PCC wants new law to force improved car security
A police and crime commissioner has called for a new law to force car manufacturers to meet a minimum standard of security on their vehicles.
West Midlands PCC David Jamieson wants something in place to force manufacturers to up their security, after it was revealed more than half of the new cars released so far this year have poor security and are vulnerable to thieves.
Mr Jamieson has been outspoken on the region's vehicle crime for some time and has called on manufacturers to do more to protect their cars. Latest figures show 11,238 cars were stolen in the region in 2018 – a near three-fold increase on 2015.
Several manufacturers have already agreed to work with the commissioner – including Renault, Nissan, Honda and Ford – but the likes of BMW and Audi, whose cars make up a high proportion of the number stolen in the West Midlands, are so far yet to co-operate.
And Mr Jamieson wants to see a law brought in to force manufacturers to meet a minimum standard of security, similar to that in place around the safety of child seats, if they continue to ignore security loopholes.
He said: "Vehicle security has clearly been ignored by many of the major motor manufactures for some time.
“We are starting to see the likes of Jaguar Land Rover make changes to their technology and get a handle on the issue, but if others don’t do the same then the law will need changing to force them to do so."
Poor security
His comments come on the back of research by car safety firm Thatcham, which found seven of the 11 cars launched in 2019 had at least "poor" security.
The new Ford Mondeo, Hyundai Nexo, Kia ProCeed, Lexus UX, Porsche Macan and Toyota Corolla were all deemed to be vulnerable to theft. Suzuki has been told the security on its new Jimny is "unacceptable".
The Audi e-tron, Jaguar XE, Land Rover Evoque and Mercedes B-Class were all praised for their security.
Mr Jamieson, whose office is part of the government's vehicle crime task force, said: "This latest research by Thatcham is deeply worrying.
“What it shows is that car manufacturers are, on the whole, still ignoring security loopholes which we’ve been telling them about for years.
“Criminals are currently outsmarting manufacturers and it is high time more of them catch up.
“I’m pleased that West Midlands based Jaguar Land Rover appears to be one of the firms taking this issue seriously. I only hope the others follow suit soon.”
Vehicle crime in the West Midlands has become a lucrative trade for organised criminals, according to police. Thieves either steal cars to order or steal them for their parts, stripping them at chop shops and using the key components to put previously scrapped cars back on the road.
Methods used by criminals stealing the cars include cloning the keys via the on-board electronics system or by boosting the car key signal from within the owner’s house to enable them to access the vehicle and drive away.
