Keeping your cars safe from burglars

Following a number of recent burglaries across the force area where cars have been stolen, officers are encouraging people to protect their property and report anything suspicious to police.

Detective Inspector Andy Crawforth said: “Unfortunately we have had a number of reports recently where houses have been broken into and car keys have been stolen. These keys have then been used to steal vehicles from outside, with a number of high powered cars recently reported stolen. 

“We appreciate the impact that these crimes can have on people’s lives and I want to offer my reassurance that we are doing everything we can to identify the people responsible and put them before the courts.

“Not only is burglary an incredibly intrusive offence that often causes distress for the victim, people often rely on their cars to go about their daily business, so waking up to find it has been taken can be both shocking and upsetting.

“Which is why we work hard using every tool available to us to take action against those people involved in this type of crime.

“Trained detectives, officers and staff work hard across a number of teams to gather every shred of evidence and piece together the puzzle to help us locate the stolen vehicles and put suspects before the courts.”

Did you know that we even have a special team on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week searching for vehicles using national databases and Automated Number Plate Recognition software?

They are on hand to carry out checks, working with the Force Control Room to dispatch officers quickly if any vehicle of interest is spotted, including cars stolen in this type of burglary.

They also research vehicles of interest, working hard day and night to find out every bit of available information to help us locate them.

The team are always busy, in fact in July alone there were 47 arrests that were initiated by the ANPR team, the vast majority of which were connected with drugs, serious acquisitive crimes such as burglary and robbery, wanted people or violent crime.

Detective Inspector Crawforth continued: “We are committed to investigating crimes of this nature and bringing offenders to justice and will continue doing so. To help us do this, it is really important that you report anything suspicious to us so that we can carry out the necessary investigations.

“Please give us a call if you see anything that seems out of the ordinary such as someone showing a particular interest in a specific house or car, people lurking around residential areas late at night or someone trying door handles.” 

There are also things that you can do to help protect your vehicle from being targeted:

– Always double check your car is physically secure and alarmed, especially when using keyless locking systems.
– Keep keys out of sight inside your property; don’t leave near doors, windows or out on worktops.
– If you have a garage, keep your car in it when it is not being used.
– If you don’t have a garage, park your car as close to your property as possible to make access difficult.
– Where possible, block your car in with another vehicle or a driveway parking post which would mean the vehicle couldn’t be driven away.
– Install CCTV and a motion sensor security light covering the area where your vehicle is kept, such as your driveway or the street outside your property.
– Check and make sure that no valuables are left in sight in the vehicle and keep the glove box empty where possible. Consider leaving it open to show there is nothing inside.
– Consider using a steering wheel lock.
– Invest in a tracking device. Whilst it won’t necessarily stop the vehicle being stolen, it will significantly increase the chances of us being able to locate and recovering it.

To report information about crime in your area, please call our non-emergency 101 line or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency always dial 999. 

To find out more about all the work that goes on ‘behind the scenes’ to investigate crimes such as burglary, read our #LiftingThePoliceTape features on our Criminal Investigation Department and Intelligence Team.