THIEVES BEWARE – CAMDEN CLAMPS DOWN ON CAR CRIME ROBBERS

WHAT: Camden’s Community Safety Partnership team hand out advice on how to keep your vehicle safe from thieves along with satellite navigation safety packs.
WHERE: South Hampstead Junior School, Hampstead, NW3
WHEN: 8 February, 2007, at 3.10pm

Motorists are to receive handy hints on how to prevent themselves being a victim of vehicle crime in a month-long campaign by Camden’s Community Safety Partnership. (1)

The campaign aims to educate motorists about the risks of leaving valuables in their vehicles by providing handy tips on how to make vehicles less attractive to thieves.

There was a 49 per cent reduction in vehicle crime in 2005/06 compared with 2002/03. However, thefts from vehicles have increased by 21 per cent since April 2006, but the amount of incidents are beginning to fall.

The Community Safety Partnership is already pro-actively targeting vehicle crime in the borough with various initiatives aimed at reducing the number of thefts including an operation to catch fraudulent blue badge users. Police continue to target offenders and run a number of operations throughout the borough such as the recent high visibility patrols offering motorists helpful tips on keeping your vehicle safe.

From this week posters will be displayed (5 February, 2007) on the rear of buses, along with pay and display parking tickets, giving people advice on how to keep their vehicles safe from the prying eyes of thieves.

Satellite navigation kits are among the most common items stolen from vehicles - just under 10 per cent of thefts from motor vehicles in Camden. In response the Community Safety Partnership has put together packs with information on how to prevent the expensive kit being stolen including wipes to clean the area where the item was fixed to remove any evidence it was there.

Frognal and Fitzjohns Safer Neighbourhoods Team will be out in force at South Hampstead Junior School on 8 February 2007 handing out the packs. They will also give out other general vehicle safety advice - such as removing all items including mobile phones, laptops and wallets.

Throughout the campaign, Safer Neighbourhoods Teams will be patrolling with fraud investigation officers from the council to identify people who are fraudulently using blue badges. Two people were arrested recently as a result of joint patrols.

Following a successful undercover operation by the council’s parking attendants and police a man was arrested and has since been imprisoned after admitting more than 80 thefts from vehicles and 14 attempted thefts from vehicles in NCP car parks in the Holborn area. There has since been a dramatic reduction in vehicle thefts in that area dropping from more than 80 thefts in a four week period to seven the month following the man’s arrest.

Cllr Ben Rawlings, Camden Council’s Executive Member for Community Safety, said:

“Crime happens when a willing perpetrator finds a vulnerable target and has the opportunity to commit an offence without being detected. We need to tackle all three aspects of this, through consistent and reliable enforcement, intervention, and by helping people make themselves and their property less vulnerable.

“By being smart and wiping clean your windscreen after removing satellite navigation kits, removing wallets and laptops from your vehicle, and following a few general rules on safety you are making yourself less vulnerable to thieves.”

Detective Chief Insp of Camden Dave Cobb said:

“It can be devastating to return to your vehicle and find a smashed window and your 'Sat Nav' stolen, for example. We want to reduce the number of victims who could suffer from this type of crime and we need to do this together by educating people. We need to tackle vehicle crime at all angles.

“The police can target offenders, but we need people to take some simple steps to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim, don’t leave valuables in your car - not even in the boot or glove compartment. If the item is not there to steal, it won't be stolen. The thief has got wiser, so we need to be a step ahead.”

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