Preventing Vehicle Crime (From Handbook of Crime Prevention and Community Safety, P 458-485, 2005, Nick Tilley, ed, -- See NCJ-214069)

• NCJ Number: 214086
• Author(s): Barry Webb
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 28 pages
• Sale Source: Willan Publishing
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This chapter describes the scale and nature of the motor vehicle theft problem in Britain and describes different perspectives regarding its prevention.

Abstract

Research demonstrates that the ways in which products are designed can either inhibit or invite crime. In Britain, problems with motor vehicle theft began to become a concern in 1918, although at the time police were doing little to address it. The failure to respond resulted in motor vehicle theft increasing dramatically. By the 1990s, over 1 million motor vehicle thefts were recorded annually. Three different vehicle crime problems comprise the issue of motor vehicle theft: (1) theft from vehicles; (2) permanent theft of vehicles; and (3) temporary theft of vehicles. Each problem is described in turn before the author turns to a discussion of the different approaches to motor vehicle prevention, including improving the security of the vehicle itself, improving the safety of the parking environment, and improving the effectiveness of the vehicle registration and licensing system. Each prevention approach is described and examples are provided of specific prevention methods that fall within each approach. Approaches that improve the security of vehicles themselves are discussed as being effective in reducing motor vehicle theft yet suffer from the problem of user error, such as when vehicle owners forget to engage their car alarm. The design problems of public car parks in Britain are examined and the author notes that one of the most pressing prevention problems in terms of parking is for experts to figure out how to design for prevention in high density housing areas. The problems with the current system of vehicle licensing are enumerated and recommendations are presented for modernizing the United Kingdom’s vehicle registration system, including recommendations that would address the database inaccuracies, inadequate enforcement, and would make crime prevention a priority. Figures, tables, box, references