UK at the heart of a global vehicle theft enterprise

Police in Britain only solve 5 per cent of all crimes, according to a recent report in The Economist, and only 2 per cent of all vehicle crimes.

So, if you’ve had a bike stolen recently we’ve got bad news: you probably won’t be getting it back. Not thanks to the help of the police, anyway.

In a recent issue, the magazine took a look at what it calls “Grand Theft Global Inc.” and the fact that Britain is seemingly at the heart of a worldwide industry that sees stolen goods shipped to numerous countries - predominantly in Africa and Asia - and then resold.

For example, the magazine says that London is the “phone-snatching capital of Europe,” with some 70,000 phones grabbed last year. More often than not, they are taken right out of owners’ hands, because stealing a phone while it’s in use means that it’s already unlocked and therefore easier for a criminal to repurpose. Looking at the bigger picture, phone theft in London alone accounts for almost half of all phone theft in Europe.

For motorcyclists and other vehicle owners, the news is just as grim. The Economist reports that upward of 130,000 vehicles were stolen in Britain last year. That represents a 75-per cent increase over a decade ago.

And there is little sign of things getting better.

“Grand Theft Global seems destined to grow,” reports the magazine. “As Africa and Asia become wealthier, demand for expensive goods will only increase.”

But why is this problem so particularly bad in the UK? The Economist chalks it up to a combination of factors.

Firstly, supply is high. We have a lot of stuff. It may not feel like it when you look at your bank balance, but we’re better off than many other countries and we have the phones and cars and motorbikes to prove it.

Pair that with particularly weak export controls. UK officials put almost all of their focus into inspecting what comes into the country, and almost no effort into checking what goes out.

Then, look at that statistic at the beginning of this article. There’s plenty of debate as to exactly why this is the case, but it’s very clear that the UK’s police forces are ineffective. Every once in a while, they may stumble upon a particularly inept gang and recover a handful of dirtbikes, but for the most part they are being outmanned and outmanoeuvred by a sophisticated criminal supply chain.

This is especially true in London, says the magazine, which has a long and dubious history of “criminal innovation.” Particularly intricate supply chains facilitate the swift removal of your stuff; one gang steals, another gang exports, a third gang creates fake paperwork, and so on. Plus, they do it quickly. The whole process, from theft to shipping, can take place in a single day.

Hitherto, officials haven’t put a great deal of effort into stopping this process, since they do not see the crimes as “high-harm.” When The Economist visited Felixstowe, the UK’s busiest port, it found that a single police officer had been tasked with inspecting the roughly 11,000 containers that pass through each day.

So, what can be done?

Putting pressure on the countries receiving the goods probably wouldn’t achieve anything. The UK government could perhaps push freight companies to pay closer attention to what they’re shipping and who’s shipping it, but that would inevitably increase costs - affecting legitimate exporters.

Manufacturers could probably be doing more in some cases, but since the stolen stuff inevitably gets replaced, what’s the incentive?

So, that pretty much leaves the victims. Until law enforcement officials decide to prioritise the global criminal enterprise that surrounds them, the only thing that bikers can do is try to protect their own stuff.

Chains work. Especially when paired with ground anchors, covers, garage defenders, and so on.

No, doing all those things won’t 100 per cent guarantee the safety of your pride and joy, but even professional criminals are looking for convenience. The more difficult you make things, the more incentive you provide for them to go elsewhere.

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