Number plate thefts

20th August 2007

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Number plate thefts have risen to record levels, new figures reveal. And the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) says it’s fuelling a boom in car cloning. It wants all vehicles to have tamper-proof sets fitted which shatter on removal.

More than 40,000 plates were taken in 2006, according to official ACPO estimates – a 25 per cent increase from the previous year. The plates are typically used to give a false identity to stolen cars, which are then involved in crimes or to escape motoring fines.

ACPO says motorists are easily duped into buying cloned vehicles, because registration plates are often used to vouch for a car’s history. The DVLA has already designed a theft-resistant plate, but at present they cost twice the price of a normal set and are only being fitted by some dealers, mainly on new cars.

The agency is also currently trialling microchip technology, which is embedded in the plate to combat cloning. It is considering forcing all of the UK’s 1.3 million motorcycles to have the chips installed.