Police seize 9,000 vehicles from Staffordshire streets
Almost 9,000 vehicles have been seized by police from the streets of Staffordshire over the past year – a third of which did not have any valid insurance.
Vehicles have also been removed by officers after they were found without tax, discovered abandoned, used in crime or had been involved in collisions.
A total of 8,813 vehicles across the county were seized in the 12 months up until the end of April and processed by Staffordshire Police's Vehicle Recovery Unit.
The figures come after a Freedom of Information request revealed victims of vehicle theft had been forced to fork out almost £1 million to get their property back from Staffordshire Police since 2011.
Figures revealed there were 5,782 motorists in total who collectively paid the force £933,862 in recovery and storage charges.
Inspector Andrew Chapman, who leads the Vehicle Recovery Unit, said: "Our zero tolerance approach has seen our Vehicle Recovery Unit do an incredible job in coordinating the disposal of so many vehicles. With the support of local officers I hope this sends a clear message that you must tax and insure your vehicle or you will be caught.
"The vehicle recovery team work very hard to contact the owner and give them ample opportunity to reclaim their vehicle with the right documentation. But there are a high number of vehicles not collected and ultimately disposed of each month, many of which have been seized for no tax or insurance.
"Insuring and taxing your vehicle has become a very simple process and price comparison websites can help you get a very good deal and save money.
"It is a legal requirement for any car that is driven on the road to have at least third-party insurance that covers your use of the vehicle, up-to-date vehicle tax and a current MOT certificate. "We will always act upon a vehicle found to be unfit for the road and will always seize a vehicle discovered to have no tax or insurance. Please make everyone's lives easier and get it insured."
However, 3,372 of the vehicles seized in the last year were not collected and resulted in them being disposed of, meaning they were either sent to auction or scrapped, dependent on the value of the vehicle.
The money raised from any auction is held in a suspense account for up to 12 months from the vehicle's seizure for the vehicle owner to claim the value of the vehicle back, minus expenses incurred for storing it. By the end of the 12 months, any money left is then invested in roads policing projects.
In the 12 months leading up to April 30, Staffordshire Police have seized 3,267 vehicles for no insurance and 481 for having no tax. The remaining 5,065 vehicles were seized for various reasons such as road traffic collisions, identified as stolen, used in a crime or abandoned.
The Vehicle Recovery Unit, based at the force's headquarters in Stafford, liaises with the officer, the recovery operator and the owner of the vehicle to ensure that the vehicles are correctly identified, stored and released.
When a vehicle is seized by police, the DVLA registered keeper is sent a notice letter advising them of the seizure and its storage location and informing them of how to reclaim the vehicle and any associated recovery and storage costs.
