Parts supply shortages that hit the auto industry post Covid are being blamed for the growing trend in cars being stripped by criminal gangs, working in full view of the public on UK streets.
Up to one in five thefts from vehicles are now thought to involve external parts being removed from cars parked in public places, with gangs of criminals relying on the inability of police forces to respond swiftly with officers on the scene, even if crimes are reported when they’re in progress.
The issue was raised in parliament last month by Edgbaston, Birmingham MP Preet Kaur Gill (Labour), who told the House of Commons that car stripping is a recurrent issue causing misery for residents. She related the story of one constituent whose Toyota Yaris became uninsurable after being stripped of parts four times in one year. They swapped to a different model, and that too was stripped in less than a week,” said Gill. Another of the Edgbaston MP’s constituents reportedly witnessed a theft in broad daylight and called the police as it was happening. “Despite informing the police she was witnessing the incident before her eyes, and there being a police station around the corner, she was told to simply log the incident online,” she said.
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