Car theft is just as out of control in the UK as it is in the US and high-end vehicles are big targets. That means highly paid Premier League soccer players have felt the pinch. But this time around, a few of their vehicles were recovered by a special police unit along with many others. We hope this law enforcement crackdown on car theft continues.
A Dodge Challenger took out four parked Lucid Air EVs.
After its latest bust, the Stolen Vehicle Intelligence Unit based out of Essex was able to recover 737 stolen vehicles in the last 12 months. Police estimate the value of those rides to total £27 million, so quite a few were of the same caliber as the Ferrari and Rolls-Royce netted some of the latest stings.
In a public release, Essex Police say the Stolen Vehicle Intelligence Unit has logged many more successes, including investigating 106 chop shops since the beginning of 2021, recovering over 1,800 cars worth £58.5 million in that time period.
The sad part is that’s only a fraction of the stolen vehicle trade in the UK, so police have plenty more work to do. But in the process they’ve been able to dismantle some of the organized crime behind the wave of thefts.
Regular citizens in any country can take steps to help secure their ride. A pre-ignition security device can help slow down thieves or stop them from taking your car. Alarms help to alert you if someone breaks into your vehicle. Parking inside a secure building at night is another key move, if you can swing that. Also, having surveillance cameras up to capture the identities of thieves is wise.
We also recommend having at least two tracking devices on your vehicle. Many come with GPS trackers out of the factory, but thieves often know how to remove or disable those quickly. A hidden device like an Apple AirTag can be instrumental in recovering your ride if it is taken.
Images via Essex Police
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