Gang of thieves targets family cars

Last month a violent gang of car thieves were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for their part in a four-year crime wave. The gang made £1.2m from stealing dozens of family cars, then stealing them back again. If these vehicles had been fitted with tracking devices the crime spree could have been stopped in its tracks, advises Stuart Chapman of TRACKER, the UK leader in stolen vehicle tracking.

The gang targeted lone women, carjacking vehicles at knifepoint, as well as carrying out burglaries on family homes to grab keys and steal the car from the owner’s driveway. The cars were given new identities – otherwise known as car cloning - by replacing the number plates and VIN (vehicle identification number) with that of an almost identical model.

“Our data reveals that 75% of all stolen cars recovered by TRACKER in the last three months have been stolen as a result of key theft by burglary or robbery,” says Stuart Chapman, a former senior police officer and head of TRACKER’s Police Relationship Team. “Many of the cars the gang picked were not high value prestige models, but normal family cars that do not stand out on the road, showing that no car is safe.

“Although the police and vehicle manufacturers have made tremendous progress in tackling vehicle crime, the thieves bounce back with new ways to defeat the latest crime fighting technology.

“Had any of the vehicles been fitted with tracking technology, there is a good chance that they would have been traced, stopping this scam earlier.”

TRACKER stolen vehicle recovery systems work like an electronic homing device. A covert transmitter is hidden in one of several dozen places around a vehicle. There is no visible aerial, so the thief won’t even know it’s there. The tracking device works even if the vehicle is hidden in a garage or taken abroad, as the system works in numerous other European countries, offering car owners the ultimate in peace of mind should the worst happen.

Chapman concludes, “Tracking technology is very affordable, offering the ultimate in peace of mind, not to mention avoiding the cost and inconvenience motorists face if their vehicle is stolen.”

For TRACKER Stolen Vehicle Recovery product and pricing information please visit TRACKER.co.uk