Northampton Vehicle Crime
Terribly, recent news highlights that Northampton is the fifth-worst place in the country, outside of London, for motor offences. Throughout 2018 and 2019, a recorded 3,464 crimes occurred in the town, consequently resulting in a place in the top 10 for highest rates of vehicle crimes.
Northampton has a total of 133,400 registered vehicles; an estimated 26 felonies were reported per 1,000 motors. Northamptonshire Police’s west local Chief Inspector, James Willis, stated that they “have been running an operation to reduce vehicle crime, not only in Northampton, but across the whole local policing area”.
According to plumplot, Northampton’s vehicle crime rate is at 120% which sits above the national average. However, the total number of vehicle related crimes in Northampton has apparently reduced by 29.9%, despite receiving a terrible ranking in the list of locations for this type of criminal activity.
How To Protect Your Vehicle In Northampton
Even though statistics suggest that vehicle crime within Northampton has fallen, there are still recent reports of terrible motor-related felonies by callous criminals and vehicle thefts, carjackings, and thefts of vehicle contents are sadly still very common. Understanding the steps you can take to protect your expensive engine will assist you on discouraging potential threats.
Whenever you are driving, always…
- Lock doors and keep windows closed.
- Drive to a well-lit area before stopping.
- Store any belongings like cell phones and other expensive valuables out of sight.
- Avoid driving at night or in isolated areas.
To keep your vehicle from being stolen, you should…
- Take your keys, lock your doors, and close the windows when leaving your vehicle.
- Park your vehicle in a locked garage if possible.
- Consider getting a car alarm, a steering-wheel lock, or other antitheft devices.
- Park your car so it can’t be towed easily. Turn your front wheels sharply into the curb and set the parking brake.
- Leave your ignition key only when your car is in a valet parking lot.
In order to protect yourself from carjacking, consider…
- Leaving enough space between your vehicle and the one in front of you to allow for a quick departure.
- Looking around and acknowledging your surroundings before approaching your car. Check that there is nothing suspicious and that you are in a safe position.
- Filling up your car at service stations in safer areas, as the majority of carjacking’s take place in petrol stations.
Professional car thieves will often attempt to steal newer cars or expensive models like BMWs, Jaguars, and Mercedes. Although, they will take any car that is easy to steal and left unattended.
Furthermore, vans are frequently targeted due to equipment being stored inside. Government data implies that thieves use a key in over half of incidents, so there are a lot of improvements to be made by drivers.
Certain cars are also stolen for certain jobs; white vans are beneficial for transporting stolen goods and sturdy cars with oversized bumpers are useful for ram-raiders, which is someone who drives through the front window of a building so that the contents can be stolen.
Conclusion
Like all places, Northampton has areas that are worse than others, so security is crucial. The RAC has urged drivers to do more in order to make their car less appealing and decrease the chances of being victimised, because vehicle thefts are on the rise in almost every corner of the United Kingdom – 152,541 vehicles were stolen in 2018-2019 across Great Britain, a 56% increase compared to 2014-2015.
While vehicle crime is at a far lower level than it was in the early 90s, the number of vehicles licensed to be driven on the UK’s roads is at its highest peak. The more a driver can do to make their car a less likely target, the better.
Interested in knowing more about Northampton? Check our other articles to find out what Northampton’s total crime rate is and what Northampton retail crime is like. Or head over to our news page so that you can keep up to date with all the latest East Midlands news.
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