Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce car theft in Surrey Heath constituency.

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and are working with the automotive industry and the police to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced measures to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. We have also introduced a provision in the Bill which allows the police to enter and search premises for specific stolen property which has been electronically geolocation tracked to a particular premises, without the need for a warrant. This includes vehicles.

In addition, the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group is focusing on steps to prevent and deter theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.