In 2014 there were 6,428 car thefts in Greater Manchester. By 2018 it had risen to 10,040. This shows that car theft is getting worse by the year as more cars are being broken into and stolen. In Oldham especially, in 2018 alone 78% of investigations were dropped because of no suspect being identified, while 12% of investigations were dropped because of lack of evidence.
Because of the rise of cars being stolen and investigations being dropped, some people have made use of the limitless reach of social media and created groups and pages that identify stolen cars within the Greater Manchester area, which they can then use to notify the police and eventually give the car back to the rightful owner.
Common mistakes people have made about car theft.
“My vehicle’s keys are secure therefore my vehicle is safe”.
Nowadays criminals are getting more advanced with the technology and hardware they use, resulting in cars being stolen without the need of taking the actual keys. Just because you have your keys does not really make your vehicle invulnerable to carjacking. The most common method they use is cloning the signal coming from your key to your vehicle. Since most people keep their keys in front of the house, it has made it easier for thieves to copy that signal.
Leaving valuable items in your vehicle
When car thieves plan a break-in, they tend to scout the vehicle first. These individuals tend to look around the car to check for items that hold value. Once the scout is successful, they make their breakthrough, in which they either attempt to steal the car, or steal the valuable items. Some criminals may steal the items rather than the vehicle itself is since it is much easier to get away with.
What Clear watch security has done to try and tackle car theft?
Clear Watch Security in the past has done numerous mobile patrols around the Chadderton area, where vehicle break-ins were quite common. This gave residents peace of mind knowing that there is an individual keeping an eye out for unusual behaviour. Our mobile patrol service would give you that peace of mind and allow you to go about your day without looking over your shoulder constantly.
In 2020, an article from the Manchester Evening News details a gang based in Oldham that specialised in stealing cars, who were then arrested and thought to have stolen cars worth over £2.25m in total, then sending them off internationally. It also detailed that they had the technology which enabled them to get into a vehicle without the use of keys. Considering break-ins, it seems as though car thieves have stepped up their game, and with technology constantly expanding, it is getting harder to catch the culprits.
What can I do to prevent this?
- Install surveillance cameras.
- Keep your vehicle in a place where it can be visibly seen by a surveillance camera.
- Install a tracking device onto your vehicle, so in the case of being stolen, the vehicle’s whereabouts can be discovered.
- Instead of having your keys placed in front of the house, keep them in a place more secure, away from doors and windows.
- It would be advised to lock your doors, since there have been many cases where people have forgotten to lock their doors at night and have woken up the next morning to their car ransacked.
