STEERING COLUMN LOCKS AND MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT: EVALUATIONS FROM THREE COUNTRIES (FROM CRIME PREVENTION STUDIES, VOLUME 2, P 71-89, 1994, RONALD V CLARKE, ED. -- SEE NCJ-147834)

• NCJ Number: 147837
• Author(s): B Webb
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 19 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Installing security devices has become an important way of preventing motor vehicle theft; car manufacturers in several countries have focused primarily on improving perimeter security to prevent vehicle break-ins and on installing devices to prevent parked vehicles from being unlawfully driven away.

Abstract

The steering column lock, an important example of the security device approach in Germany, resulted from regulations requiring vehicles to be fitted with antitheft devices. Germany's regulations were introduced in 1961, followed nearly 10 years later by similar regulations in the United States and Great Britain. An analysis of the effect of these regulations on motor vehicle crime indicates that steering column locks reduce vehicle theft, particularly theft for temporary use. The speed with which the motor vehicle population has been protected by steering column locks and the availability of other vehicle types not protected by such antitheft devices are important issues in explaining motor vehicle theft patterns. 12 references, 1 table, and 7 figures