Worst areas for unsolved automotive crimes revealed | EUROtoday

Ministers are going through pressing calls to ascertain a devoted police unit to sort out automotive theft throughout the nation, as new figures reveal that greater than three-quarters of circumstances went unsolved final yr.

Analysis by the House of Commons library signifies a staggering 121,825 motor automobiles have been reported stolen throughout England and Wales within the 2024-25 monetary yr.

Of these, a regarding 92,958 investigations have been closed with no single suspect being recognized, contributing to a mean nationwide unsolved fee of 76.3 per cent.

The Metropolitan Police recorded the best proportion of unsolved circumstances, with 88.5 per cent of automotive thefts within the capital going unaddressed.

Other forces struggling considerably embrace British Transport Police (84.4 per cent), South Yorkshire (82.6 per cent), City of London (81.5 per cent), Sussex (81.1 per cent), and Warwickshire (80.7 per cent).

The evaluation, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, discovered that 35 out of 44 forces in England and Wales noticed greater than 60 per cent of their automotive theft investigations conclude with out an recognized suspect.

open picture in gallery

In response to those alarming figures, the Liberal Democrats are advocating for the creation of a specialist staff inside the National Crime Agency.

This unit would leverage information from computerized quantity plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, insurance coverage data, police intelligence, and border management to particularly goal organised automotive crime networks.

Lib Dem house affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson acknowledged: “Time and time again victims of crime are left without the support they need, it’s a disgrace and communities deserve so much better.

“The previous Conservative government betrayed our communities with years of self-defeating cuts to our police forces – and now the current Labour Government must not turn a blind eye to this epidemic. Enough is enough.

“That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for a car theft crackdown, to finally catch the organised gangs and criminals who for far too long have been getting away with it.”

The Home Office, nevertheless, highlighted a 12 per cent discount in automobile crime and a 7 per cent drop in automobile theft within the yr main as much as June 2025.

They additionally pointed to new laws designed to outlaw digital gadgets used to bypass automobile safety, with criminals going through as much as 5 years in jail for his or her use.

A Home Office spokesman commented: “Vehicle theft has a devastating impact on individuals, families, businesses, and the wider industry. For too long, not enough has been done to prevent these crimes or to bring those responsible to justice.

“This Government and the police are taking decisive action to change that – from introducing new laws to ban electronic devices used to steal vehicles, to training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.”