Figures reveal car crime hotspot areas in Flintshire and Wrexham

Data gathered from the Police UK data website show that, between January 1 and December 31 2018, more than 300 instances of ‘vehicle crime’ were reported in major towns across both counties to North Wales Police.

Vehicle crime is the broad term for a range of crimes including theft of motor vehicle, theft from a motor vehicle, vehicle interference, and causing damage to motor vehicle.

In Flintshire, Connah’s Quay, Shotton and Queensferry top the list with a total of 106 incidents reported in the year-long period – with close to a fifth of all incidents recorded in the Deeside area coming from Queensferry. Just two months out of the year saw no reports across Deeside.

North Wales Police say that your vehicle is often your second greatest financial investment after your home and losing your vehicle or its contents can be ‘devastating’.

Their website has several tips and suggestions for motorists as part of a new campaign – The Big Easy – during which North Wales Police hope to identify simple measures that drastically reduce the chances of having your vehicle targeted by thieves that we can sometimes forget during our busy day-to-day life.

These include simple things like ensuring doors are locked, windows are secure and valuables are not on display.

In Wrexham, vehicle crime was most likely to have taken place in the town centre.

In the town centre ward of Offa alone, there were 39 reports of vehicle crime in the 12 months from January to December 2018.

On the town’s largest estate, Caia Park, there were 13 vehicle crimes in the Wynnstay ward alone. In the villages outside the town the figures were lower.

Other high ranking areas in Flintshire were Holywell Central at 21, Flint Castle at 10 and six across Bagillt East and West. For Wrexham, there were 19 vehicle crimes in Brymbo for that period, with 14 in Ruabon and 12 in Llay.

During the Leader investigation, it was clear that vehicle crime did not just encompass cars – but thieves also targeted vans on the increasingly popular assumption that workers left valuables inside.

A recent incident in Wrexham saw a couple left devastated after their campervan was stolen from their driveway as they packed to go on holiday.

It is believed that thieves stole the transponder code from the owners key in an increasingly common crime, leaving the family without their clothes, tools, camping equipment and a printer ahead of a holiday to France.

A police spokesman said: “It’s easy for us to advise you to empty the van every night and re-load it in the morning, but we realise this is not always practical.

“Some of our advice on how to make your van and its contents less of a target include storing tools in secure cabinets or boxes within the van and adding supplementary locks to the existing locks - the more a thief has to do to break in, the more likely they are to move on to an easier target.”

From our research, it shows that the safest place to keep your car last year was in villages surrounding Buckley and Mold for Flintshire.

Just 55 incidents were recorded over the 12-month period, with many months showing no records on the police database with short spikes in reports accounting for the majority of incidents.

The town centre of Mold came back as the highest area, with a total of 10 incidents recorded in the Mold Broncoed policing district.

Police urge that if you witness suspicious activity around vehicles, call the police on 101, or on 999 if a crime is in progress.

North Flintshire Police Inspector Gareth Cust

Inspector Gareth Cust, of North Flintshire Policing Team, told the Leader what steps the force is taking to combat the ‘sporadic’ issue of car crime.

He said: “We are working with the community safety department and OWL to publicise prevention advice in terms of locking vehicles and not leaving valuables on show.

“We see a lot of opportunist type stuff, sometimes it involves taking things off cars, like their wheel trims or mirror, but sometimes it can be theft from inside a secure vehicle.

“It is a hard thing to tackle because it is so sporadic. If they are in the same place and at the same time, we would be able to put an operation in place but there seems to be no real pattern to it.”

Inspector Cust also addressed the growing concern over van thefts, and thefts from vans across Flintshire in recent weeks.

He issued several safety tips to van owners to prevent themselves from becoming victims.

He said: “Even the smallest precautions can help, such as fitting locking wheel nuts, a removable stereo system or a lockable fuel filler cap.

“Do not leave any valuables such as mobile phones or sat-navs visible, and definitely never leave the keys in the van. Whenever possible, remove tools, stock and other equipment from the van, especially when leaving it overnight.

“Visible security features can be a strong deterrent to theft or break-in, so consider steering or handbrake locks, and mesh grilles on load-bay windows.

“If you have an invisible security device such as a tracker or an alarm, make sure that prospective thieves know about it by placing a warning sticker on your van. It can be more than enough to put them off.

“Always lock your van’s doors and close the windows when you are away from it, even for a short time. I would also advice that van owners park in busy, well-lit areas.”

Jackie Lee showing the various safety devices available through OWL Cymru

Jackie Lee, of crime prevention charity OWL Cymru, says times have changed and taking simple steps to prevent theft from your vehicle, or the theft of your vehicle, is not difficult or expensive.

She said: “Thirty years ago, a car could be stolen using nothing more than a metal coat hanger.

“Today, it can take as little as ten seconds for a thief to steal something from your car as they use more tech-savvy methods to steal from your car or simply open the door of an unlocked car.”

The charity believes that one of the best ways residents can protect their property is to be part of a neighbourhood watch scheme.

Mrs Lee said: “Being part of a scheme equips you with useful crime prevention information and resources and, with the window roundels on display and a neighbourhood watch street sign up.

“This is a clear indicator to thieves that neighbours in the area are not complacent to crime and are working together to prevent it – young and old, vulnerable and non-vulnerable looking out for each other.”

The OWL team stress that thieves will adapt their methods to suit their targeted vehicle but there are many ways to help prevent these incidents and the crime prevention charity says that the rise of keyless entry cars present a unique problem.

Mrs Lee explained how thieves work in tandem to amplify the signal the key fob emits from inside the victim’s home to another criminal stood by your car who unlocks the seemingly safe vehicle and drives the car away without even setting foot inside your home.

She told the Leader about a case in Mold where a woman spotted an attempted relay theft on her vehicle safely parked and secure outside her home.

“This lady was awakened in the night by voices outside and as she looked out of her window, onto her driveway, there was a male stood by her car with the lights of her vehicle lit up and another male ran, from her house towards the car towards the other male.

“She banged on the window, so both the offenders ran off empty handed on this occasion. She was lucky that she scared them off.”

These car key burglaries are often committed by criminals who are working to order and targeting certain types of vehicle, based on demand and value. The Leader previously reported that car owners in Flintshire and Wrexham are seeing an increase in thefts targeting high performance Audis, BMW’s and Volkswagen Golf Type R’s and GTI’s.

The OWL Cymru representative explains these types of theft can be prevented by purchasing radio-frequency identification protected pouches that for little as £5.50 from the charity.

More information about keeping your vehicle safe can be found on the OWL Cymru website here - www.owlprotectcymru.org/bikeandvehiclesecurity.