Theft

  • Hints & Tips

    Combat the Rise of British License Plate Theft

    Improved technology means that our cars are now more secure than ever. Although incidents of car theft have decreased as a result of this, license plate theft is unfortunately on the rise.

    According to the Liverpool Echo, 1,342 number plates were reported stolen in Merseyside in the period from April 2013 to March 2014. Alarmingly, thefts are supposedly as common in broad daylight as they are at night.

    Why is license plate theft on the rise?

    Police warn that license plates are often stolen with the intent to also steal a car’s identity when committing further crimes. Thames Valley Police say some of the most common crimes committed with stolen number plates are ‘gas and dashes’, ‘robbery’ and ‘avoidance of congestion charges and parking fines’.

    In the unfortunate event that a license plate is stolen, the crime should be reported immediately. Acting quickly can help you avoid receiving fines or worse, knocks on the door from police officers regarding crimes you did not commit.

    Number plates often also possess more value than a legal identity. The popularity of personalised number plates amongst drivers comes mostly from car owners wanting to give their vehicle a more sentimental edge. Private number plate specialists Click4Reg, value the protection of personalised number plates on cars, particularly because of each one’s rarity, their merit as a gift and potential worth in trade.

    The precautions taken to avoid license plate theft are much like the ones to take when avoiding vehicle theft.

    At night, parking in a garage or well-lit street is always likely to deter thieves.

    Parking in a public car park at any time of day will ensure extra safety, especially if you can park in view of a CCTV camera.

    Where possible, it is also worthwhile to park against something which prevents access to either your front or back license plates

    Fitting security screws is perhaps the most effective way of avoiding license plate theft. They can be fitted by a regular screwdriver in place of the plate’s existing screws, but removing them requires a specialist screwdriver only available to police and authorized partners.

     

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  • News

    U.S. Auto Theft Facts That Will Shock You (Infographic)

    LoJack — the maker of security and recovery devices for cars — has put together some statistics on auto theft in the U.S. They’re not as thorough or as useful as stats from the FBI or the National Insurance Crime Bureau because they focus solely on vehicles with LoJack systems (obviously, to tout their strengths). However, the data does re-affirm one or two important pieces of information that we’ve gleaned from other sources.

    STATE BY STATE

    For instance, LoJack notes that more vehicles were stolen and recovered in California in 2013 than any other state. That might not come as a shock: California is the most populous state, so it stands to reason that it also has the most vehicles for thieves to steal (and thieves to do the stealing). However, LoJack’s numbers are in keeping with NICB data, confirming that California remains a serious trouble spot for car owners and insurers.

    The other top-ten car-theft states on LoJack’s list are Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Arizona, Georgia, and Washington. Curiously, those don’t align with state population rankings, nor do they provide direct matches with NICB data on theft hotspots, which include only cities in California and Washington state. (Granted, the comparison isn’t entirely apples-to-apples, but the differences are interesting.)

    This proves what real estate agents have known for years: it’s all about location, location, location. While some states may score lower on overall theft rankings — as Washington does — there can be hot spots within those states that are far more active among auto thieves than the statewide data might suggest.

    TOP TARGETS

    As far as specific stolen vehicles are concerned, there’s a good bit of overlap between LoJack and NICB’s lists of most-stolen models. In both cases, the Honda Accord is tops, and the Ford F-Series and Honda Civic make the top five.

    Also of interest: LoJack says that black cars are the most often stolen and recovered in the U.S. That’s a little surprising, since black is usually #2 or #3 on the popularity list, typically coming in below white and occasionally, silver. (In Europe, the situation’s reversed.) Do thieves really prefer black cars? Or are people with black cars simply more prone to buy LoJack systems? Maybe both?

    Beyond that, LoJack’s stats aren’t very interesting or enlightening. If you’re in California, though, and you drive a black Honda Accord, it might be time to invest in a theft-prevention system.

    Checkout LoJack’s infographic here.

    US most stolen vehicles US most stolen vehicles

    via thecarconnection

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  • Videos

    Ninja Teen Creeps Into Dealership To Steal Guy Fieri’s Lambo (VIDEO)

    No one can say that 19-year-old Max Wade lacked determination. In order to steal a Lamborghini that belonged to celebrity chef and human cheese fry Guy Fieri back in 2011, Wade rappelled into a San Francisco car dealership, cut the locks, and drove away. Now we have video.

    But Wade eventually paid for his crime — and a bunch of other ones. In January he was sentenced to life in prison for stealing the Lamborghini Gallardo and shooting a fellow teen and his girlfriend over a romantic rivalry.

    Now, TV station KGO has video of Wade rappelling into British Motor Cars to steal the Lambo. And he came prepared, too:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOR-2p-WY4U

     

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  • News

    Teenager who stole Guy Fieri’s Lamborghini gets life in prison (VIDEO)

    If you’re currently on a crime spree, we’d recommend against stealing the Lamborghini of a popular, bleached-blonde chef, lest you end up getting sentenced to life in prison. That’s not to say 19-year-old Max Wade’s life sentence was simply due to pilfering Guy Fieri’s Lambo – an attempted murder charge for a drive-by shooting, among other crimes, also played a role – but we doubt it did much for his case.You’ll recall we last reported on Fieri’s missing Gallardo Spyder in April of 2012, when it was reported that the Marin County Sheriff’s Department and Mill Valley Police Department recovered the car from a storage container, that also housed the motorcycle Wade, then 17, used in the drive-by. Wade originally stole the V10-powered droptop from a San Francisco dealership in 2011, reportedly by rappelling onto the dealership’s roof.Wade was charged as an adult for his crimes, despite being a minor when they were committed, and could be eligible for parole at an unspecified date. That said, he’s also facing a separate sentence of over 21 years, according to Boston.com. Scroll down for the news report from KPIX-5, the Bay Area’s CBS affiliate.

    Teenager who stole Guy Fieri’s Lamborghini gets life in prison (VIDEO)
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