Birmingham West had the highest vehicle theft rates over the last two years, new research has revealed.
comparethemarket.com found that 61,746 vehicles have been stolen over the last two years. Theft rates dropped by nearly 15% in 2020 (28,454) while many people worked from home during the pandemic, compared to 2019 (33,289).
According to the figures, based on responses from 26 police forces, the top ten hotspots are:
Rank Location 2019 thefts 2020 thefts Total 1 Birmingham West 1,730 1,375 3,105 2 Liverpool 1,276 1,062 2,338 3 Sheffield 1,199 1,123 2,322 4 Birmingham East 1050 991 2041 5 Doncaster 739 796 1535 6 Sandwell 726 748 1474 7 Brighton and Hove 672 590 1262 8 Rotherham 557 615 1172 9 Luton Borough 679 486 1165 10 Coventry 506 608 1114
Overall, the West Midlands fell victim to the most crimes (11,506) over the last two years. However, it’s Birmingham West that ranks top for the total number of offences, despite thefts in 2020 decreasing by nearly 21% compared to 2019.
While theft rates in Liverpool, Sheffield, and Birmingham East also decreased last year, Doncaster saw thefts increase by 8%.
Further analysis shows an annual increase in keyless car theft, accounting for 93% of all recorded thefts last year. The most stolen vehicles include the Range Rover and Land Rover, especially the Range Rover Sport, and Autobiography. The Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover Evoque follow. In fact, in 2020 comparethemarket.com saw an increase in enquiries for the Range Rover Evoque by 11% compared to 2019, whilst the Range Rover Sport saw an increase of 9%, and the Land Rover Discovery at 7%.
