Kentish Express Ashford & District
ATM ram raids on the rise as repairs cost thousands
County’s cash points targeted by criminals
The number of ram raids and cash machine thefts across the county rose last year, figures show.
Statistics from Kent Police, plus data gathered by the KM Group, reveal 39 incidents took place from April 2014 until the end of February. Only five people have been charged in that time.
Fourteen crimes happened this financial year so far - which started in April 2018.
The force data shows two crimes in 2014-15, nine in 2015-16 and seven in 2016-17. In 2017-18 there were nine offences.
Last month, the cash machine at the Co-op in Faversham Road was targeted in the early hours - just weeks before thieves ramraided the One Stop in High Halden with a 4x4.
Methods used across Kent vary from using angle grinders and welding tools, to vehicles which could include 4x4s and JCBs taken from building sites. In 2015-16 there were two incidents involving explosives being rigged up.
Kent Police’s 2018 figures run from April to October where six crimes were recorded. Since then the KM has reported on a further eight across the county.
Retired detective Nick Biddiss said: “The amount these criminals get is completely disproportionate to the damage they do. Repairs cost thousands of pounds.
“The problem is these offences are often committed at night and a lot of them are in remote areas.
“Ram-raiders should obviously be given a certain number of years in prison. Unless the courts give them harsher punishments they will just keep happening.”
Police statistics show five out of nine incidents were using a vehicle in 2017-18 compared to only two out of nine in 2015-16.
DI James Derham, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: “There has been a recent increase in the attempted theft of ATM machines across the county. However, this is not a crime type unique to Kent and it is being seen across the country.”
He added: “Our officers work closely with ATM providers and local businesses to provide crime prevention advice and promote ways in which they can keep these machines and their premises secure.
“Although the vast majority of attempted ATM thefts have resulted in damage to the machine and no money being taken, our officers are committed to targetting offenders.”