UK’S CAR THEFT HOTSPOTS: Birmingham West tops list according to new research
Updated: Jul 4, 2021
Price comparison website comparethemarket.com has highlighted Birmingham West as the UK’s car theft hotspot capital according to new data released.
The research reveals that 61,743 vehicles have been stolen over the last two years. Theft rates dropped by nearly 15% in 2020 (28,454) while many of us were at home and able to watch over our cars due to the pandemic, compared to 2019 (33,289).
The data was taken from Freedom of Information requests (FOI) to police forces across the UK during May 2021 and is based on 26 responses, covering data from 2019 and 2020.
According to the figures, based on responses, the top ten hotspots are:
Overall, the West Midlands fell victim to the most crimes (11,506) over the last two years. However, it’s Birmingham West that ranks top for the total number of offences, despite thefts in 2020 decreasing by nearly 21% compared to 2019.
While theft rates in Liverpool, Sheffield, and Birmingham East also decreased last year, Doncaster saw thefts increase by 8%.
Looking more closely at vehicle theft across the UK, further analysis shows an annual increase in keyless car theft, accounting for 93% of all recorded thefts last year. The most stolen vehicles include the Range Rover and Land Rover, especially the Range Rover Sport, and Autobiography. The Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover Evoque follow. In fact, in 2020 comparethemarket.com saw an increase in enquiries for the Range Rover Evoque by 11% compared to 2019, whilst the Range Rover Sport saw an increase of 9%, and the Land Rover Discovery at 7%.
Dan Hutson, Head of Motor Insurance at comparethemarket.com, said: “There are measures you can put in place to help reduce the chance of your car being stolen, but nothing can keep your vehicle 100% secure. So you need to make sure you have an insurance policy that covers theft so you don’t end up out of pocket if a criminal strikes.”
