Designing Out Crime Through Vehicle Licensing and Registration Systems (From Understanding and Preventing Car Theft -- of Crime Prevention Studies, Volume 17, P 67-84, 2004, Michael G. Maxfield and Ronald V. Clarke, eds.)

• NCJ Number: 208051
• Author(s): Barry Webb; Melissa Smith; Gloria Laycock
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For other chapters, see NCJ-208049-50 and NCJ-208052-57.

Annotation

This paper describes the changes that are currently being made in the British vehicle registration and licensing system to make it more difficult for vehicle owners to conceal the identities of their vehicles from licensing authorities.

Abstract

The current system for registering and licensing vehicles assumes that both sellers and buyers of vehicles will notify the licensing authorities of any ownership change; however, there is little incentive for either the owner or the buyer to do this, especially if buyers want to avoid tax, insurance, and Ministry of Transport test payments. Making current owners liable for the vehicle until the licensing authorities have been notified of the change of ownership would create such an incentive and therefore improve the accuracy of the vehicle record. Proposed changes in the registration and licensing system would also likely reduce vehicle theft for financial gain. Requiring a vehicle registration document to re-license a vehicle will make the selling of stolen vehicles more difficult. Having owners remain liable for their vehicles until they are registered with another owner or are reported scrapped or stolen will improve information on vehicles that have been scrapped, thus making if more difficult for thieves to steal their identities and apply them to stolen vehicles. Harmonizing vehicle registration information across European Union countries may also help to identify and target stolen imported/exported vehicles; and greater enforcement through the widespread use of automatic number plate readers will increase the risk of detection when driving a stolen vehicle. The linking of various vehicle databases will improve the accuracy of vehicle records, making it difficult for thieves to use the identities of scrapped vehicles. Chips in vehicles and roadside readers will enable vehicle characteristics to be checked, increasing the risk of being detected while driving a stolen vehicle. 6 figures and 13 references