A decade of manufacturers being forced to burn the midnight oil and invest in creating new anti-theft technology to foil our car criminals has no doubt produced some innovative ideas all of which in an ideal world would offer peace of mind to most vehicle owners. But it’s not an ideal world, writes Ken German.
In today’s theft epidemic those very dedicated and clever technicians appear to have been ‘hoisted by their own Petard’. Quite simply both money and the availability of this technology to every Tom Dick and Harry has allowed criminals to keep pace with anything the manufacturers might create. Indeed in their attempt to prevent vehicle theft escalating any further we have simply ended up in a rather bizarre ‘force majeure’ situation where there are no real winners and no clear solution.
Stories of theft of high value car crimes that occur in seconds often using third world military technology often associated with keyless car crimes have been commonplace in the media and on social media websites. Much of it of late appears to write off a decade of advancement in vehicle security and encourage us to return to a decade or so ago (when incidentally vehicle crime was three times higher than it is today) and re-use those simple devices like the steering lock in the hope that they will prevent our vehicles being taken. Sadly they more often than not won’t and somewhat ironically the technology now used to render them useless can be very old indeed – a saw!
The Metropolitan Police have been working hard to rid themselves of the scooter criminals that have menaced the capital for the last year or so and Commisioner Cressida Dick has advocated that these fearless and hardened criminals should be locked up for longer irrespective of their young age. Indeed her successful Operation Venice teams and the arrest of several gangs have seen the reduction of robbery and theft in some areas by 80pc in parts of London.
One gang of four caught by the Venice team who wore masks with a skull and crossbones motif whilst carrying out at least 13 robberies and attempted robberies in Lambeth, Southwark and Westminster were sentenced at Inner London Crown Court last week. They were all found guilty of conspiracy to rob including stealing six scooters, phones, wallets, handbags and laptops using threats of violence where a knife and force was used.
The youngest was a 15-year-old boy (14 at the time of the offences) who was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment and another 16 year old boy was given four years imprisonment. Another 16-year-old was given another three and a half years imprisonment on top of the six years he was already serving for manslaughter when he threw a distress flare into a car killing the person inside. A 19-year-old woman regarded as the gang’s big sister was jailed for two and a half years. The gang were caught after police tracked their movements on CCTV and cross-referenced DNA evidence recovered from the teenagers’ phones.
While sentencing, the judge was forced to clear the courtroom when relatives began hurling abuse at him. One person shouted out “How can you do this, he’s only 15”, while others started taking pictures on their phones in court and shouting “free the gang, free the team.”
The judge said: ”It is outrageous that people do not feel fit or safe in starting or setting off on a motorbike in an important line of work. Frightening masks were used and it is inevitable that the victims would be traumatised.”
An officer from Operation Venice said: “We are working hard to make the streets hostile territory for criminals who steal scooters, mopeds or motorbikes and then use them to commit crimes. These offenders rely on the unwariness of the public to commit their crimes but it’s important that the public remain vigilant at all times to protect their personal property.”
The new Motorcycle Police force in London using Enduro machines are not issued with Tazers, or any other defensive weapon as they are expected to rely on armed officers who should be quickly available.
Last month a moped gang of 17 men were found guilty of using a gun and tools such as hammers, knives, portable angle grinders and a battering ram during robberies to steal £1m of property. They too used helmets and disguises to force their way into shops frighten staff and customers before leaving with goods. All will be sentenced at a later date.
A zombie Knife like the one in the picture was used to attack a motorcycle police officer riding his ‘Enduro’ machine. He had stopped a moped rider and his passenger who proceeded to attack him with the knife and to ‘slash’ his bike to destruction.
