Vehicle Identification (Hansard, 25 May 1994)

§ Mr. John Whittingdale (Colchester, South and Maldon)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require new vehicles to display a visible vehicle identification number. The purpose of the Bill is to assist the police in catching car thieves and preventing car crime. The latest figures for car theft show an increase last year in the number of stolen vehicles to nearly 600,000—about one every minute.

Earlier this week, the RAC revealed that motorists in England and Wales bear a greater risk of having their cars stolen than any other drivers in the world. Even more worrying is the growth in professional car crime, in which cars are stolen by organised gangs rather than by joyriders. That is shown clearly in the sharp rise in the proportion of vehicles that are stolen and never seen again. That proportion has now reached 38 per cent. in the country and 50 per cent. in London.

The requirement in my Bill for the fitting of visible vehicle identification numbers—"visible VINs"—will not solve the problem, but it will make a difference by making it easier for police officers to spot a stolen car and harder for car thieves to disguise one. There is already a requirement for all cars to carry a vehicle identification number; but, far from being easily visible, the number often presents the motorist with a considerable challenge. Even finding the number requires him first to locate the plate that is fixed in the engine compartment under the bonnet, and then to scrabble around under the carpet next to the driver's door, where it is usually stamped into the chassis.

Even if the cautious purchaser of a second-hand car succeeds in finding the number, he still cannot be sure that the car is genuine and has not been ringed. Car ringing is becoming a major industry. Every day smashed-up cars are being sold in salvage yards for far more than they are worth; the write-offs are being bought not for the value of their parts or for scrap, but simply for their identity.

Having bought a write-off, the professional car thief will go out and steal a car of identical make and model. New licence plates can be fitted in just a few minutes; then the VIN on the chassis is tampered with, or the metal on which it is stamped is cut out and the VIN of the write-off is welded in its place. If the thief did not acquire a vehicle registration document, he need only contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to be sent a new one.

The result will be that the thief has a car that appears entirely legitimate because it has a licence plate and a VIN that match those on the vehicle registration document, of which he is the legal owner. I recently visited the stolen vehicle squad, where I saw several vehicles that had been ringed in that way. It was only after careful forensic examination by experts that that was discovered.

I pay tribute to the officers of the Metropolitan police's stolen vehicles investigation squad for their work and for the help that they have given me in preparing the Bill. Although comprising only 45 officers, it has had considerable success. Last month alone, its efforts resulted in the arrest of 22 people and the recovery of property worth more than £2 million. Those officers are still only scratching the surface of the problem and they believe that visible VINs would be a major weapon in the defeat of car crime.

344 To be effective, the VIN must be placed so that it can be seen through the windscreen by a police officer on the beat and it should not be accessible from inside or outside the vehicle. The police recommend that it should be recessed into the dashboard at the front nearside A-pillar and that it should be visible through a gap in the obscuration band.

Supported by a wide range of companies involved in the motor industry, the European secure vehicle alliance, an all-party parliamentary group of the House, has drawn up a specification for visible VINs which is supported by the police. In particular, the visible VIN should be designed in such a way that tampering and removal is obvious to the naked eye.

Several manufacturers are already fitting visible VINs. Some are etching the number on to the windows of the vehicle. That is better than nothing, but it is not sufficient, as windows may be easily replaced or the number altered. Plates stuck to the top of the dashboard are also inadequate, as they are easily accessible and may be prised off.

I understand that the Ford Motor Company initially adopted that approach. The new Mondeo has a visible VIN, fitted in the manner approved by the police, as do BMWs and Jaguars. The Home Office has called on other manufacturers to follow their example.

For several years, a number of states in the United States of America have had a requirement for visible VINs. The director of Michigan state police recently wrote to the stolen vehicle squad, saying that the visible VIN is an invaluable tool for both our patrol officers and autotheft investigators. The VIN plate is easily checked and extremely difficult to alter. In preparing the Bill, I have been extremely grateful for the support of a number of organisations. I have already mentioned the European secure vehicle alliance and the Metropolitan police's stolen vehicles squad. Their assistance has been invaluable. I have received a letter from Mr. Taylor, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police and secretary of the crime committee of the Association of Chief Police Officers, saying that the visible VIN was recently considered by ACPO's crime committee and was strongly supported. He states that it will help not only to defeat the car thief but to uncover getaway cars used in many other types of crime, including armed robbery and terrorism.

The Association of British Insurers has written to me to say that it fully supports the introduction of such a system and has been calling for it for many years. The RAC made clear its strong support for the introduction of visible VINs by all car manufacturers, together with legislation to make it an offence to tamper with a VIN.

Visible VINs alone will not defeat car crime. The prudent motorist can take a number of other measures. The national vehicle security register is run by Retainacar and provides information about the history of a motor car, which could be easily checked by dealers and those considering the purchase of a second-hand vehicle.

Immobilisers and car alarms are also effective in deterring car thieves. In the short time that it has been available, the new tracker device, which can be fitted inside a vehicle and is activated by remote control if a car is stolen, has been remarkably successful both in achieving the recovery of a stolen vehicle and the capture of those responsible.

345 However, the measure proposed in the Bill is simple, and has already been shown to have a significant impact on cutting car crime. It has long been called for by the police, and is supported by the insurance industry, manufacturers and the public. The only people likely to oppose the measure are the car thieves. I therefore commend the Bill to the House.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. John Whittingdale, Sir Ivan Lawrence, Mr. David Marshall, Mr. Robert Maclennan, Mr. Bob Dunn, Mr. Barry Sheermar, Mr. Stephen Day, Mr. David Lidington, Mr. Michael Stephen, Mr. John Sykes, Mr. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Mr. Michael Brown.