Police call for ban on cash-only car auctions

Organised criminals steal cars to order before selling them to public with no audit trail, police chief says

Cash-only car sales at auctions are being used by organised crime gangs to fuel a surge in vehicle theft and should be banned, a top police officer has said. Jenny Sims, a spokesman on vehicle crime for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, will meet Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, today to discuss new laws to prevent the gangs making millions from car thefts. The number of vehicles being stolen has risen by 60 per cent in five years to a total of 115,000.

Cash-only car sales at auctions are being used by organised crime gangs to fuel a surge in vehicle theft and should be banned, a top police officer has said.

Jenny Sims, who leads for the National Police Chiefs’ Council on vehicle crime, will meet Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, today to discuss new laws to prevent the gangs making millions from car thefts.

The number of vehicles being stolen has risen by 60 per cent in five years to a total of 115,000.

Ms Sims said thousands were stolen, often to order, to be butchered for parts, which are then used to reconstruct a wrecked vehicle obtained through salvage firms. These repaired cars are sold for cash to unsuspecting motorists at one of the dozens of auctions that have sprung up, some with turnovers of up to £125million a year.

The cash deals mean detectives have no financial or DVLA documentation trail to track down criminals.

However, so far only one of the auctions has agreed to block cash sales, so Ms Sims wants to use the threat of legislation to persuade them to do so voluntarily, or face a legal ban and new rules that would require anyone selling a wreck to register it with the DVLA.

“The auction companies are not criminals but they are operating in a way that is making it easier for criminals to process cash through their businesses,” said Ms Sims, an assistant chief constable for Cheshire police.

Mr Malthouse has welcomed the idea. “If we can design crime out with physical, technological or regulatory changes, I’m all ears,” he said.

Car theft is increasingly a major source of income for organised crime, according to Ms Sims, because of the value and rising number of cars, combined with the easy availability of “hacking” equipment that exploits flaws in keyless technology.

“It’s become a low risk, high reward crime. We really need to increase the risk of being caught,” she said.

There was mounting evidence that criminals were using stolen vehicles as weapons to try to maim or kill police officers or members of the public, Ms Sims added.

Police research has suggested that 15 per cent of burglaries are linked to car crime, with some gangs using children as young as 10 or 11 to sneak into houses, officers have told The Telegraph.

Ms Sims said a “simple” amendment to the law could outlaw cash deals.

“It’s simple economics. Reduce the value, increase the risk and the crime instantly becomes less attractive. The [auction companies] should think about why they accept cash only and how that is helpful to criminals. This is coming their way,” she warned.

Ms Sims said she also wanted roadworthiness certificates to guarantee the safety of vehicles sold at auction.