Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on detection rates for thefts (a) from and (b) of light commercial vehicles, broken down by police force area; and whether she is taking steps to support forces with low detection rates for such thefts.

The Home Office requires the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales to report trends in crime using aggregated categories such as theft of a vehicle or theft from a vehicle and we do not hold detailed data on the type of vehicles involved.

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the issue, to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime. Through the policing National Vehicle Crime Working Group, a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure forces can share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and better tackle regional issues.

In the Crime and Policing Bill we have brought forward legislation to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. This will support the changes manufacturers continue to make to prevent thefts. The Bill has now completed its passage through the House of Commons and is now at Committee stage in the House of Lords.

We provided £275,000 last financial year to help support enforcement work at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including additional staff and specialist equipment. An additional £210k is being provided by the Home Office (totalling £485k) this financial year to build on and further bolster these efforts to tackle vehicle crime

Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for understanding local crime patterns and for setting priorities which reflect the concerns of local communities, but we expect them to take all forms of crime seriously.