Vehicle crime statistics in 2019: England, Wales and Northern Ireland

With another year coming to end, it is the perfect time to reflect on 2019. Unfortunately, from mopped and scooter crime, to knife crime, the UK has seemed more lawless than ever in the past year. With this in mind, we have decided to take a look at the vehicle crime statistics across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and discover the outcome for these crimes- whether justice was served or if vehicle criminals remain at large.

How many vehicle crimes were there in 2019?
By scraping data from data.police.uk, we found out there were a total of 375,001 vehicle crimes in 2019 across the country. A further look into the data breaks down how many vehicle crimes were committed in different areas across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Where are you more likely to be a victim of vehicle crime?
There were 89,900 vehicle crimes in 2016 in London, but how many did the Metropolitan Police register in 2019? Click4reg.co.uk can reveal that the areas with the highest vehicle crime statistics in 2019 were:

Metropolitan Police (98,177 crimes committed)
West Midlands Police (27,265)
West Yorkshire Police (18,422)
Greater Manchester Police (15,600)
Thames Valley Police (15,367)
In order to put these numbers in perspective, the % of crimes for these areas out of the total for England, Wales and Northern Ireland are the following:

Metropolitan Police – 26%
West Midlands Police – 7%
West Yorkshire Police – 5%
Greater Manchester Police – 4%
Thames Valley Police – 4%
Surprisingly, or perhaps not for many Londoners, over a quarter of vehicle crimes take place in England’s capital.

How many vehicle crimes were solved in 2019?
The following percentages represent the number of vehicle crimes closed without identifying a suspect

Click4reg.co.uk found out the areas that struggle to solve vehicle crimes the most are those found under the following constabularies:

West Midlands Police (93%)
Cambridgeshire Constabulary (89%)
Merseyside Police (88%)
South Yorkshire Police (88%)
Sussex Police (88%)
On the other hand, the areas with the highest solve rate are:

Lancashire Constabulary (1%)
Avon and Somerset Constabulary (3%)
Lincolnshire Police (3%)
Metropolitan Police (3%)
Gwent Police (55%)

Important DVLA information

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, or DVLA, sees all aspects of personalised number plates across the UK. Created in 1965, above all, the DVLA is integral in controlling passenger vehicles. From managing drivers and road tax, the DVLA protects our roads. As one of the highest profile government agencies today, our roads may look different without them. In short, we work with them daily. However, it is important to note that we do not affiliate with them.

DVLA is a registered trademark of the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency. Click4Reg is not affiliated to the DVLA or DVLA Personalised Registrations. Click4Reg is a recognised reseller of DVLA registrations

Number plate law

As responsible agents, we prioritise following the law. It is now mandatory for customers to provide a V948 certificate issued by the DVLA before purchasing a number plate to verify their entitlement. These are valuable assets and essential features of cars that criminals can duplicate to create a false identity, which is a common practice among them. Therefore, we advise visitors to exercise extra caution when obtaining cherished registrations.

Number plates must be road-legal and readable. It’s essential to keep the positioning and spacing of the characters the same. They Must use reflective materials with black characters on a white background for the front plate. Also for the rear plates, they must have black characters on a yellow background. They cannot have patterns.

A number plate must measure 524mm x 112mm and can display up to 7 digits. Standard 4×4 rear plates measure 285mm x 203mm and with a standard front plate. Larger vehicles such as Jaguars and Porsches require a larger rear plate measuring 533mm x 152mm. But still use the stock front plate size.