Car steering wheel locks should be 'given away for free', says PCC

Recent figures show that car crime has increased by more than a third in the past year and almost quadrupled since 2015.

Simon Foster said he will now be writing to retailers to encourage them to provide steering wheel locks at the point of sale.

As criminals use increasingly sophisticated technology to bypass electronic security systems, such as remote central locking or keyless cars, Mr Foster believes that taking advantage of traditional methods of security, such as steering wheel locks and signal blocking ‘Faraday pouches’, may be a simple solution to an ever-evolving problem.

“Retailers and car manufacturers must do much more to ensure their consumers’ vehicles are secure,” said the West Midlands PCC.

“I want car retailers to play their part in driving down vehicle thefts.

“For the cost of just a few pounds they can supply a steering wheel lock and Faraday pouch that will help keep the vehicles they sell secure and out of the hands of thieves.

“No one should spend tens of thousands of pounds on a vehicle only for it to be stolen months, weeks or sometimes, days, later, as a consequence of the level of security on that vehicle being unfit for purpose”.

Mr Foster said he is working to tackle the issue of car thefts on a number of fronts, including calling on car manufactures to make vehicles harder to steal and ensuring West Midlands Police continues to prioritise the issue.

He has also written to the Government to urge it to provide a list of vehicles that are commonly stolen, providing consumers with an informed choice, and encouraging manufactures to prioritise the security of vehicles and “to hold to account those manufactures that are consistently neglecting the security of their customers’ vehicles”.

Mr Foster has been publishing similar lists locally, but wants the problem addressed at “a national level”.

West Midlands Police has been tackling the issue by targeting so-called ‘chop shops’, which profit from the illegal trade in stolen vehicle parts.

The force recently uncovered “a major chop shop” that it believes may be linked to dozens of stolen vehicles.

Officers executed a search warrant at the Central Trading Estate unit in Cable Street, Wolverhampton last month and discovered “an array of vehicles and car parts, including several engines that have been cut from stolen vehicles”.

They include Mercedes cars stolen on July 5 and June  29– from Bristol and Wolverhampton respectively – a BMW M4 taken last November in a car-key burglary in Cheltenham, and one taken from a BMW motorbike stolen in June in Codsall.

Chief Inspector Will O’Connor, said: “This appears to be a major chop shop discovery. The unit was packed with car parts and initial examination of engines has shown several taken from stolen vehicles.

“Chop shops provide a key outlet for thieves to dispose of stolen vehicles quickly, so identifying and closing them down helps us make it more difficult for offenders and tackle the wider issue of car crime.

“The warrant was prompted by community intelligence. Information from the public is crucial in our efforts to close down chop shops. We always take information seriously and will always act where appropriate to close down chop shops and make arrests.”