Shock as data shows one third of drivers think car theft is decriminalised in the UK

Almost a third of drivers deem car theft to have been effectively “decriminalised”, as the number of car thefts has almost doubled in the past decade, despite an incredibly low conviction rate.

New figures, courtesy of tech firm Nextbase, show that roughly 130,000 cars were stolen in the UK in the year leading up to March 2024, compared with 70,000 cars in 2014. Perhaps even more alarming is that despite the high number of thefts, only two per cent of cases resulted in anyone being charged. 

This is slightly up from the 1.43 per cent charge rate that Nextbase reported between June 2022 and 2023, but it still exposes crucial failings within the UK’s police force and, many believe, their lack of commitment to combating car crime.

It’s no wonder, then, that when Nextbase surveyed 2,000 drivers about what it described as a car theft “epidemic”, almost one in three (31 per cent) of respondents said they believe car crime has essentially been “decriminalised” due to the lack of effective response from the police. 

This is supported by the fact that 17 per cent of people surveyed are actively putting off buying a new car, fearing it might get stolen.

Two-thirds of respondents also said that they believe criminals are becoming more sophisticated in their methods; this is highlighted by the recent rise in keyless car thefts, in which criminals utilise a relay device that can fool the car into thinking its key is nearby, thereby allowing it to be unlocked.

Shocked by the new statistics, Nextbase’s Head of Road Safety, Bryn Brooker, said: “This alarming rise in car thefts cannot be solved by police alone, who often don’t even get called until a stolen car has been stripped for parts or shipped abroad.”

Auto Express has approached the National Police Chief Council (NPCC) for comment, but is yet to receive a response.

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