This weekend the weather in Britain is expected to reach a chilly -9 in places, which can only mean one thing to most drivers – de-frosting their vehicles before they head off. We’ve already highlighted to our readers many opportunistic thieves are now making the most of the cold weather and simply driving away with residents cars, as they might head indoors to enjoy the warmth whilst waiting on their vehicle to de-frost.

According to one source over 50 vehicles are stolen every day using the owner’s keys. The worry is, as the weather temperature falls below zero, residents will leave their keys unattended in the ignition as the car heats-up, and the aforementioned figure is set to rise sharply.

It’s worth remembering, that if your car ‘simply disappears‘ whilst the keys are in the ignition, most insurance companies will NOT pay out as ‘you didn’t take adequate protection against theft‘.

If you have too defrost your windscreens then we recommend you use a de-icer or invest in a decent scraper (and some wooly gloves) which will quickly remove the ice from the vehicles windows. However, if you do have to leave your vehicle while it’s de-frosting, even if it’s for only a few seconds, then we at Crime Prevention Products recommend that you use proper vehicle security devices which will prevent any opportunistic thief simply driving off with your vehicle as the temperatures plummet.

Crime Reduction Officer, PC Tim Cuthbert, warned today of the rising trend in thieves to target against caravan and holiday parks. Speaking about the latest spate of caravan and mobile home breakin-ins, PC Cuthbert said “Criminals often target these at this time of year, as they know that people can be carrying out maintenance or preparing for their summer holidays.”
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Motor theft has the potential to spiral in the Summer months with the light nights which encourages more youths to camp out and the influx of tourists. Although it has dropped significantly in the last few years. Car crime accounts for about 13% of all crime in England and Wales (Home office). Most car crime is opportunistic so there are several things that can be done to prevent theft.

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