Analysis and planning key to vehicle crime success

Kent and Surrey police both experienced reductions in vehicle crime after taking part in two government-funded experiments to tackle the problem.

Vehicle crime fell in Kent by 14 per cent over two years when Operation Igneous was launched in 2002, and the force developed a system to spot emerging patterns of vehicle crime.
Surrey also recorded an overall drop of seven per cent in vehicle crime where Operation Gallant was carried out; Gallant adopted the same approach as Operation Igneous to see if the lessons learnt from Kent could be successfully applied in Surrey.

The authors of the report – Approaches to intelligence-led vehicle crime reduction – published this month said preparation was the key to success in using intelligence-led policing styles to tackle crime.

“Prior to the implementation of an intelligence-led vehicle crime reduction initiative, there is likely to be a number of actions that need to be taken. Getting these right will pay dividends when the initiative commences,” the report stated.

Based on their findings, researchers came up with a list of common factors to be considered when this approach is used.

Under Operations Igneous and Gallant, information was taken from local crime reports, incident data, PNC data and intelligence reports. This was then used to decide what policing tactics should be adopted to reduce the incidence of vehicle crime.

Analysts were employed to examine crime patterns. As a result, Operation Igneous created a specific programme that targeted prolific offenders and gave crime prevention advice to owners of high-risk vehicles.

The researchers said that at least three months is needed to secure data, equipment, budgets and to develop a project plan. Six months was needed for the two-year operation in Kent.
Up to five years of vehicle crime reports could also be analysed to predict future trends. This allowed analysis to identify emerging patterns of crime.

Other factors that came into play included making sure the data used
was accurate. Researchers also recommended that a dedicated team of two or three officers should be set up to run the project. BCU commanders needed to be kept informed of the initiative to secure their support.

Examples of intelligence led tactics used by Kent and Surrey police included:

n Automatic Number Plate Recognition
n crime prevention road shows
n offender profiling
n profiling sites where cars are dumped
n tracking devices
n visits to motor salvage yards

For the full report, log on to the Home Office Website research directorate.