HC Deb 25 April 1991 vol 189 cc1201-3
13. Mr. Anthony Coombs

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of crimes involving the taking of or from motor vehicles.

Mr. Kenneth Baker

Last week I published a car theft index to draw attention to the vulnerability of certain models. Yesterday I met the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the Association of British Insurers to discuss car crime.

Mr. Coombs

Will my right hon. Friend, while deploring the commission of 1.3 million thefts of or from motor vehicles every year and while urging motor manufacturers to improve the security of their vehicles, confirm that a large proportion of those thefts take place when the cars are left unlocked? What advice can he give the public to prevent those thefts?

Mr. Baker

My hon. Friend is right in that the record shows that in London, for example, 27 per cent. of all cars broken into last year were unlocked. Given the value of the car or the possible value of the various pieces of equipment that may be in the car, this is most regrettable and careless. We are trying to ensure that people take much greater care of their cars, but it is also up to the car manufacturers to put higher priority on the design of more secure cars, and some car manufacturers are doing this.

Mr. Maclennan

Will the Home Secretary ask his Department and the police to report on the effectiveness of car alarms? These ear-splitting instruments, which make the night hideous for the general public, have no justification if they do not lead to apprehension of offenders or prevention of crime.

Mr. Baker

There are many types of intruder alarms and car alarms and some insurance companies give rebates off the premium for cars equipped with them. I think that people should appreciate more keenly that a car is a valuable asset, worth something between £5,000 and £10,000. Cars are often left in streets, some of which are unlit, and that is an opportunity for casual crime.

Mr. Gregory

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that one of the reasons why we have such a high incidence of theft and unauthorised use of motor vehicles is that those who take them think that they can get away with it? Will he issue a circular to the chairman of the Magistrates Association confirming that the penalties are up to £1,000 but penalty points can be added to a driving licence and the facility to drive a vehicle can also be removed? Magistrates in many cities, including York, are sentencing those without insurance to only one quarter of the penalties that they could suffer.

Mr. Baker

We can certainly draw the attention of the magistrates to the range of penalties available. The maximum penalty for taking a vehicle without authority is a fine of £2,000, six months' imprisonment, or both. Many of the people in young offenders' institutions and juvenile prisons are there because they have committed crimes related to cars.

Mr. Sheerman

The House will know how fond the Government are of a week of exhortation and glitz as a substitute for real policies. Rather than the expenditure of £4.5 million on a Crime Prevention Week, we need properly resourced, properly thought-through crime prevention programmes. Is it not a fact that the Government have dithered for five years, when they could have introduced decent minimum car security standards and imposed them on the industry? If they had done that, we should have a much better situation now.

Mr. Baker

The country may want carefully thought-through proposals on crime prevention, but it will not get them from the Labour party. The Crime Prevention Week last week was very successful, and I am not the least bit surprised that Opposition Front-Bench spokesmen are a bit sour. I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we are pressing our European Community partners to accept our proposals for a Community directive on car security. Any such measure will have our support.