The worst place in the UK for vehicle crime

Fri Jul 23 2021

Stats roundup

• London had the highest number of recorded vehicle offences, with 109,995 instances.
• Central locking was the most commonly targeted security measure (93%). 
• 78% of those who experienced any vehicle related theft said they were emotionally affected.
• 39% of all reported vehicle-related crimes occurred on a residential street.

For many of us, our car is our pride and joy. From sunset drives to singalongs with loved ones, and even those late night drive-thru treats. Our cars get us from A to B, and anything in between.

Some people love their cars so much, they spend big money to make their vehicle an extension of their personality. Some even opt to work in their car, using it to make a living on the road!

But as much as we treasure our cars, we can’t always guarantee their safety all of the time. 

Unfortunately, people target vehicles for theft, vandalism and other crimes. Whether that’s people stealing from the glovebox, damage to the expensive exterior, or even theft of the vehicle itself!

And the experience is incredibly stressful, but car insurance can make the experience smoother.

However having your car taken from you or damaged beyond repair can be an expensive ordeal, and often leaves people feeling stranded. Valuables being taken from your vehicle can be difficult to replace and no one wants to see their pride and joy being ruined by another person. 

But for car lovers across the UK, where is the safest place you can park up your wheels, and where you might want to add to your security precautions?

We wanted to find out, so we dug deep into the data. Analysing statistics from the Office of National Statistics, we found the UK cities that experience the most vehicle related crimes.

Ranging from theft from the vehicle, damage to the property, and items being taken from the car, the top ten locations with the highest and lowest amount of crime can now be revealed.

The data showed us that in 2020 there were 359,407 vehicle offences in England, and in Wales, there were 11,871. Our analysis also revealed that these statistics are unfortunately up by 21% in comparison to 2019’s figures. 

However, it’s not just the overall figures we’re interested in.

Looking deeper into the data, we can reveal the locations in the UK that have experienced the largest amount of vehicle crime in 2020.

London had the highest number of recorded vehicle offences, with 109,995 instances, and 153 of these were in the City of London. These figures were up by 14% in comparison to 2019.

The South East followed with 45,489 vehicle offences being reported in 2020, a 25% increase since 2019. The residents of Thames Valley were the worst affected by these crimes, as they reported 14,860 of the total offences. However, Surrey saw just 5,935 instances of vehicle crime. 

The third most affected by vehicle crime in 2020, is the North West. The region recorded 41,408 instances of vehicle crime, with Greater Manchester experiencing 24,352 of these crimes. Cumbria however, had just 832 reports. Overall, these figures have increased since 2019, by 25%.

The West Midlands saw an 18% increase in reports since 2019 and the East followed with 23%. These regions follow as the most affected by vehicle crime with 39,401 and 33,388 reports being made respectively.

Details of the crime

To give us a better look at when these crimes have taken place, we analysed data provided by the ONS, detailing these instances during April 2019 to March 2020 - across England and Wales.

The majority of all vehicle-related theft took place in the evening to night (between 6pm to 6am), with 66% occurring at this time. Weekday offences were the most common with 76% taking place Monday to Friday. 

Similar statistics are found when looking at when a car is stolen and valuables are taken from the vehicle. 

39% of all reported vehicle-related crimes occured on a residential street, whilst the least amount occured on a workplace road (1%).

However, theft of the actual vehicle occurred more often on a semi-private residential road (41%).

If you’re looking to protect your car as much as possible, ensure that your doors are always locked. Our analysis highlighted that the most popular method of break in, was using unlocked doors, with 44% of all vehicle-related crimes reporting so.

This was followed by an offender breaking through the window (18%) and manipulating the signal with a remote locking device (14%). 

However, for offenders looking to steal the car itself, the remote locking device was the most common method of gaining entry with 36%.

Of course, security precautions made on vehicles can prohibit offenders from compromising their safety - however that doesn’t always stop offenders.

Across all vehicle-related thefts, central locking was the most commonly targeted security measure (93%). 

This was followed by car alarms (69%) and immobilisers (64%).

Surprisingly, newer models were not as much of a target as you may expect, as vehicles under a year old made up just 4% of stolen cars.

The most commonly stolen car was reported to be between 1-5 years old, as they made up 37% of all thefts.

Once an offender has the vehicle, not many people would expect the car to be returned to them. However, our analysis of the data showed that 28% of vehicles were brought back to their owner, once recovered. 

Despite this, 48% of vehicles stolen were damaged, and 30% were reported to be damaged beyond repair and written off.

46% of this damage was recorded to cost the owner between £100-£499, however 21% cost a more manageable £50 or less.

But when an offender isn’t trying to steal the car itself, what items are most often stolen from inside the vehicle?

The data revealed that 39% of items stolen were made of ‘valuables’. This includes jewellery, handbags, cash and cards, as well as clothes and documents. 

If you’ve added some external decoration to your vehicle, be aware, as 19% of items stolen were exterior fittings. Other items stolen include electrical equipment (13%) and tools (10%).

And these thefts come at a large cost too, as just under a third of these items were worth between £100 to £499.

It’s not just the financial impact that car owners have to deal with though. The emotional repercussions of being the victim of a crime can have a lasting impact. 

78% of those who experienced any vehicle related theft said they were emotionally affected, and just over half said they felt angry as a result. 

Others reported a loss of confidence and a sense of vulnerability (13%) and feeling anxious (6%).