Dr Ken German is a past president of IAATI UK branch. He worked at the Stolen Car Squad for many years as Head of Technology and Crime Prevention in the Met, obtaining a BA and a PhD in International vehicle crime. His role is to support the current president Mike Briggs – security director at Thatcham. Here’s a Q&A with him.
Your members come from a variety of backgrounds – law enforcement, vehicle manufacturers, insurance companies, government officials, private investigators – how does this help the IAATI provide a partnership approach to vehicle crime.
The International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI) was originally formed in America to improve communication and coordination among professional auto theft investigators. Other countries including the UK clearly recognised the difficulties of functioning independently of one another and that auto theft investigation was not just in the domain of the police but required an active participation from the private sector.
So successful was this ‘partnership approach’ that currently IAATI has branches in 35 countries. Its 3500 members include representatives from the police and other law enforcement agencies, as well as vehicle manufacturers, insurance companies, government officials, private investigators, service providers in intelligence and other like minded people who prevent and investigate vehicle crime or who have a legitimate interest in vehicle crime investigation, prevention and education.
The partnership most certainly was instrument in helping to bring the theft total down from 378,000, 15 years ago to the 90,000 that it is today.
What advice would you offer fleets to better protect their vehicles being targeted for theft?
It is obvious from recent presentations that we have heard at our crime conferences that some fleet managers have their work cut out in protecting their vehicles and property. A quarter of all stolen cars trucks and vans are taken from the ‘owners’ own premises. We have heard that thieves often from organised criminal gangs view a commercial yard as an opportunity to steal particularly catalytic converters, wheels, tools, fuel and other goods all at one time. It seems certain that organised criminals will have researched the most profitable and the most vulnerable yards prior to any attack and many will sadly have had information passed to them from someone with a current or past connection to that particular property. In essence security should primarily be focused on perimeter protection (fences), site access and its control (gates), surveillance (lighting and effective CCTV) and guards with visitor control and/or intruder detection. Also thought important was remote staff vehicle parking, limiting the number of key holders, a controlled access to loading bays and control systems and installing personnel and vehicle search procedures.
An ideal would be vehicles parked defensively all contained in a highly visible and secure off-road quality compound with effective security lighting monitored by a CCTV system with an appropriate response system. Clearly this is not always possible or affordable. Any vehicle keys kept on premises should be in a secure and lockable place preferably out of sight of strangers and not on a peg system that identifies the vehicle. Never use a ‘hiding place’ such as inside the front bumper.
Accurate vehicle records of numbers of major parts, trailers and special equipment fitted, such as HIABS, cat converters or tail lifts need to be kept to help identify vehicles and owners if property is stolen. It doesn’t protect against theft but it does assist in returning property and bringing offenders to justice.
Outside of the yard, vehicles particularly LCVs appear to be more vulnerable than ever usually when parked at night or over the period of a weekend. These too will have been told are targeted and we believe a continued ‘security awareness of theft’ programme for drivers should be available including proper use of any security products fitted. Drivers should lock and secure their vehicles whenever they leave the cab and keep their keys on them when they are away from their vehicle and never leave them where they could be copied.
Try and refuel on site before beginning a journey and watch out for and report any incorrect or short loading by careless or dishonest warehouse staff, even those not directly involved with loading.
Avoid routine stops for cigarettes, newspapers and keep quiet about the nature of the loads or journeys. Verify with their transport manager any instructions to change a delivery address and always keep to hand a mobile communication device. Our members advise that additional immobilisation and telematic equipment used with security databases and checking companies can be beneficial. For example HPI who offer security alerts, Experian with their third party trace, Retainagroup and My Car Check (other companies are available) can place security markers on their individual databases that trigger alerts if vehicles deviate from their intended routes.
Catalytic converter security is available and necessary particularly for vehicles with a high ground clearance that leave fuel tanks and converters vulnerable and exposed to attack. Converters that are bolted on may need welding around the bolt areas to deter theft. OBD port protectors seem to be the security items most frequently discussed at the moment as well as anti drill, anti pick devices and spare wheel locks.
Also automated key control systems, remote disabling systems, key-fob panic button and tamper-proof key cabinets were discussed as being solutions to those who have suffered theft.
We in IAATI have the country’s leading experts within our membership who are always ready to offer help if asked.
We feel sure that both company security and fleet managers will each have their own concerns about protecting their vehicles and we feel they would benefit greatly from membership of IAATI and the chance to meet like minded people to discuss their ideas and solutions to this common problem.
What are the current issues and concerns among your clients and members?
The headlines of late have shown that high value cars are being stolen to order using technology that can reprogramm an ECU and create new keys. This of course is a major worry to the manufacturers the police, insurance companies and many others as this equipment has now been made available to all including organised crime gangs.
After all the good work by manufacturers in improving security over the last decade it seems that we have returned (as one newspaper reported) to the ‘Krooklock’ to protect our vehicles and property. This major problem clearly needs to be resolved and quickly and fortunately through our contacts with government, industry and manufacturers we can offer a grass roots level insight into what really is happening and who really it is affecting.
Fraud of course in all of its forms is still a major factor in the theft of both private and commercial vehicles today.
To counter this representatives from AVCIS (police and civilian) have been receiving funding from the FLA that allows them to operate on their behalf and its a partnership that has been and still is very successful.
Another big worry is that the recovery rate for cars and motorcycles is reducing more or less confirming that organised crime is involved.
Concerns from the HGV sector concerning stolen loads, the plant industry which still has enormous problems and the of leisure sector (stolen quads, trikes, caravans, motor homes) affect thousands of people and the financial loss to each as a result of theft is huge.
Another is the increased use of fraudulent documentation and cloned credit cards being used to hire vehicles or obtain them on finance. These are then exiting the UK sometimes within the hour.
Experts are also concerned that thieves may even be using computer malware to take over vehicle systems via satellite issuing remote commands for vehicles to unlock and start up. We now suspect that all modern makes are potentially vulnerable.
We in IAATI attempt to direct all of these problems as they arrive to someone who can assist whether it be government, police, expert, or manufacturer.
What tactics are being used by vehicle thieves that are a concern you feel fleet managers needs to be aware of (keyless car hacks etc) and what devices are most effective against theft?
The general consensus of opinion is that usually because of cost, security is often overlooked particularly if theft has not previously been experienced by the company. Driver training on security it seems is not often provided and is often seen by some as an issue or lack of communication between company security and fleet managers.
Delivery vehicles (for example TNT, CityLink, Yodal, Royal Mail, Tesco, Morrison’s to name but a few) are notorious for leaving vehicles unattended, doors unlocked, side panels open and exposing the contents and tempting theft. Many fleet tracking systems again through cost generally do not have alarm functions – door alarms, trailer disconnect etc. The function mainly records driver driving behaviour and fuel states which are used for planning purposes.
To answer your question ‘what devices are most effective’ is both easy and difficult. Easy because it is known that driver awareness, staff security training including ‘what if’ scenarios and the purchase of quality security equipment tailored to each company’s individual needs is still the most effective advice. The question is also difficult to answer because most company’s have unique premises with varied access and vulnerability points. Their vehicle fleets, storage facilities, delivery schedules, driver vetting procedures etc differ from each other.
We have found that managers and company decision makers who make contact through IAATI with police and experts regarding whatever security concerns they have can be a satisfying and inexpensive. It is not our policy in IAATI to suggest or promote individual products but clearly those that through success merit further investigation are often those discussed by our members.
In your view what are the most vulnerable areas of (keyless)vehicles that can be exploited for theft.
Thieves are always looking for an easy steal and vehicles left open with keys left in them sounds incompetent but many do and frosting (stealing vehicles that are left unattended whilst warming up) is very common. Keys left lying around can also be copied for a ‘later’ steal by a thief which is another increasingly common practice. The key should not be able to identify the car or the car from the key.
Routine is also bad as targeting gangs rely on this in planning their robberies/burglaries and care should also be taken regarding loose talk about the nature of any loads or details of a journey. A changed delivery address whilst en route should always be verified by the driver as thieves often use this method to have the goods redirected to their own premises.
Have you seen an increase in people wanting training or membership with IAATI in light of recent news regarding car security.
Most definitely. With vehicle crime still a low priority within the police constabularies in general very little auto-crime training is given to them and often none at all. That said praise must be given to many of them who have successfully investigated complex theft/fraud enquiries involving vehicle crime this year. The initial recovery of potentially stolen items and subsequent investigation is often failed however by the lack of expertise in identification that is available, particularly when cloning is suspected. The sheer logistics of moving large amounts of personnel to one location for training sessions has become prohibitive due to cost and being away from the workplace.
We have discovered that a general video on various aspects of vehicle crime that can be viewed at the work place plus contacts who can answer queries on particular topics is probably the way forward simply because vehicle crime is changing all the time. Limited autocrime training is now given to police in the Metropolitan Police area and marking companies do offer their own crime courses on request.
What are the most effective methods and products the IAATI would recommend in combating car theft?
I think I may have alluded to methods in another answer and of course being an apolitical association IAATI cannot recommend or promote at all.
