HL Deb 31 July 1997 vol 582 c96WA
Lord Braine of Wheatley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What information they have on the number of car drivers who have had a handbag or other possessions stolen from the passenger seat whilst the vehicle is caught in traffic.

Lord Williams of Mostyn

No statistics are available centrally. The recorded crime (Notifiable offences') series does not separately identify these offences—they are included in the 'theft from vehicles' offence classification. The British Crime Survey also counts such incidents as theft from vehicles and cannot separately distinguish incidents in which the driver was in the vehicle.