Black Country is 2023’s Number One Vehicle Theft Blackspot

Vehicle security and technology specialist, HH Driveright, is ending 2023 by publishing a map of van theft hotspots in Great Britain, which reveals that the Black Country is the most high-risk location for this type of van crime.

Drawing on the data it holds in its system following attempted and actual van theft incidents involving vehicles fitted, or not equipped, with its technology, HH Driveright has declared Wolverhampton to be the van driver’s number one blackspot.

This is closely followed by Birmingham, with Romford in Essex in third spot.  The fourth place in the van crime rankings goes to Dartford, London, whilst Manchester ranks in fifth place.

Following that come Leicester, Stoke, Bradford, Doncaster and Glasgow.  Eleventh place goes to Hull and twelfth to Newcastle.

The top van theft hotspots data is drawn from various sources held at HH Driveright HQ.  All revolve around the information coming into the call centre from HH Driveright customers - often delivery companies operating sizeable courier fleets.  These include some of the biggest names in Britain. 

All are using – across the fleet or just in parts of it – the HH Driveright GM 2020 technology and several are running exercises that compare and contrast the van theft experience when vehicles are fitted with the device and when they are not.

The GM 2020 can immobilise a van after 10 seconds, if the keys are not removed from the vehicle by the driver.  In these cases, the van is protected from thieves who are following a van with a view to stealing it for black market sale.  It also protects the vehicle from opportunist thieves passing by.  Remobilisation is swift, if all is well.

However, if doors are left unlocked, goods can be stolen, unless the auto-locking function is also in operation.  Invariably, if theft of goods has occurred, the customer enquires about how to benefit from the GM 2020’s auto-locking functionality, to prevent repeat incidents.

If auto-immobilisation is not enabled in a van fitted with a GM 2020, the HH Driveright team is typically called upon to trigger a remote and manual immobilisation of stolen vans.  The team can then pinpoint the van’s exact location and also view data relating to the incident.

Having crunched all the incident data to produce its Van Theft Blackspot Map, the HH Driveright team is issuing a warning to drivers to keep their vehicles extra-secure over the Christmas and New Year period, both when delivering and when parked up.

“Van theft is indisputably on the rise and highly prevalent in various parts of the country, as demonstrated by our map,” says HH Driveright’s managing director, Rebecca Hall.  “Whilst drivers operating in these areas need to be particularly cautious, we must remember that we are facing an epidemic of van theft, with vehicles often shipped out to Russia, due to supply issues in that country, as a result of sanctions.  Other thieves are just responding to a shortage in the supply of vehicles and long wait times and selling vans into the black market here. 

“There is always a buyer, somewhere, for a van, its component parts or its goods.  The only way to keep a vehicle safe is to invest in the right security and increase driver awareness of the risk.”

To find out more about the GM 2020 and other HH Driveright solutions, head to www.hhdriveright.com or call 01937 830144.                                                              

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Editors notes

HH Driveright is an award-winning vehicle security and compliance specialist, with exciting and advanced solutions for van drivers, caravan owners and car drivers wishing to protect their vehicles, livelihood and reputation. It won the 'Keeping Your Show on the Road' award at the 2022 Logistics UK Van Awards and is continually finding ways to achieve that goal, to keep vehicles and their drivers or owners safe and protected.