Car theft epidemic as just 1 in 50 faces court
CAR thieves face just a onein-50 chance of being prosecuted, shocking research revealed yesterday.
Between 2012 and 2016 nearly 380,000 vehicles were reported stolen across England and Wales – 208 a day.
But there were only 7,405 prosecutions, or four a day.
Only one in five of those tried ended up in prison, with the average sentence 21 months.
And when a prison sentence was not handed down the average fine was a mere £198, according to the study by Churchill car insurance.
The analysis also highlights an increase in trials of juveniles in car theft cases.
The report follows a row over police budget cuts, with the Government pressing for more savings.
Last month a report by the Inspectorate of Constabulary said about one in four police forces in England and Wales are “all too often overwhelmed by the demand they face”.
Disgrace
It said numbers of police officers were cut by 22,888 or 16 per cent to 123,142 between 2010 and last year, and the number of police back-up staff dropped 41,826 or 17 per cent to 212,176.
Simon Kempton, of the Police Federation, said: “It comes down to how many people on the ground.
“One out of 50 prosecutions is far lower than it should be. It is soul-destroying for officers who feel they are unable to do the job they signed up to do and feel they are letting the public down.
“You are far more likely to get away with a crime today even though we are better at things like forensics. More and more victims are not seeing a police officer and I think that is a disgrace.”
Churchill, which analysed official figures from sources including the Ministry of Justice, Department for Transport and the Office for National Statistics, called for tougher deterrents to stop the epidemic of car theft.
The company’s Steve Barrett said: “At present the deterrents are not strong enough. We believe the punishment needs to reflect the impact of the crime, with longer sentences and fines.”
Nigel Humphreys, of the Alliance of British Drivers, said: “If this were another area of crime, say domestic violence or rape, and only two per cent ended in prosecution, there would be outrage – and rightly so.”