Police chiefs have called for the number plate system to be overhauled in a bid to beat “car cloning”.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has warned that an increasing number of car number plates are being stolen or cloned to allow criminals to escape motoring fines or commit crimes without being identified.

The Police estimate that there was an increase of nearly 25% in the number of registration plates stolen last year, with in excess of 40,000 vehicles having their plates snatched in 2006.

Superintendent John Wake of the ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service told the BBC that there was no confidence in the DVLAs ability to prevent cloning. The registration plate was the “first form” of identification of a vehicle he said, adding “I don’t have confidence that beyond that you can identify that that vehicle is the legitimate vehicle for that plate”.

The Association of Chief Police Officers now wants all cars to have tamper-proof plates fitted and a new central body established to issue vehicle registration numbers.

More at the BBC.

Under a new scheme being implemented by Police forces across the country motorists whose cars are stolen are being charged at least £105 if they want the Police to recover their vehicle when it is found and check it for forensic clues.

Only car owners who pay the new fee are assured their cars will be dusted down for fingerprints or swabbed for DNA. Motorists who recover their own vehicles are being warned that their cars will not be checked for clues and that the police force will accept no further responsibility or take further action to identify the person who took it.

From The Sunday Times.

The RAC is warning motorists about rocketing theft from cars, with a 23% rise in the number of smashed side windows reported last year due to opportunistic thieves grabbing expensive gadgets left in clear view in unattended cars.

Research carried out by RAC Auto Windscreens reveals that despite a car theft taking place every 22 seconds, over 40% of motorists regularly leave valuables on show when their cars are unattended, making rich pickings for thieves who are increasingly smashing side windows to bag booty.

Not only are motorists enticing thieves to their cars by leaving valuables on display, but they also stand to miss out on being able to make an insurance claim if they have not secured their valuable.

From RAC News.

The DVLA are warning motorists to be on the lookout for stolen V5 vehicle registration certificates when buying a used car. Thousands of the faulty logbooks have been stolen from the DVLA and it is believed that several hundred are already in circulation.

Motorists who are looking to buy a car are urged to check the serial number that appears at the top right hand corner of the registration certificate. If it bears the prefix BG and falls within the range BG 9167501 to BG 9190500, they are advised not to purchase the vehicle.

These V5C certificates could be used to sell stolen vehicles that have had their identity changed to match that of a legitimate vehicle, a practice is known as cloning. The cloned vehicles are sold on to unsuspecting members of the public who suffer significant losses when their vehicles are confiscated by the police.

The stolen certificates have a different background colour on the Notification of Permanent Export (V5C/4) tear off slip on the second page, which looks mauve on the front and pink on the reverse. On legitimate documents they should be mauve on both sides.

If you are concerned whether a certificate is genuine ring DVLA’s helplines on 0870 241 1878.

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According to a report just out from Endsleigh Insurance claims for car theft in Hull are 126.1% above the national average with Bradford coming in second at 107.4%, followed by Leeds with 95.6%.

The report also says that car owners in Norwich are least likely to have their vehicles stolen, followed by those in Solihull and Swindon.

An Endsleigh spokesman said “The overall national picture on car theft is good news for drivers and there us no doubt that improved car security has significantly contributed to this drop.”

Read the full article on the BBC web site here.