Car theft from vehicles is soaring in West and Mid Wales.
Dyfed Powis Police have logged a 23% rise in 12-months, Gwent saw an 11% increase but in North Wales the crime went down by 10% and South Wales Police refused to provide data.
More than half of police forces have seen an increase in thefts from vehicles with nearly quarter of a million broken into in 2016
Nearly a quarter of a million vehicles were broken into in 2016, with 26 police forces – more than half of all those in England, Scotland and Wales – seeing more thefts from cars than the previous year, according to data seen by RAC Insurance.
A total of 239,920 vehicle break-ins were reported to 42 police forces – 8,698 more than in 2015 (231,222), representing a 4% increase. However, this is a 9% reduction on 2013 when there were 263,574 thefts from vehicles.
Responses to a freedom of information request made by RAC Insurance reveal that the City of London constabulary saw the largest rise with a 76% increase (46 to 81). Northamptonshire experienced the second greatest rise with 41% (2,864 to 4,043). Wiltshire Police (1,680 to 2,074) and Dyfed-Powys (446 to 549) were joint third with a 23% increase.
Of the 15 forces that recorded reductions in thefts from vehicles from 2015 to 2016 Cheshire Constabulary saw the largest fall in such crimes with 19% fewer (2,827 to 2,284). Cumbria’s numbers for the offence went down by 11% (780 to 697) and North Wales Police’s by 10% (1,326 to 1,187).
