Responses to the Problem of Thefts of and from Cars on Residential Streets and Driveways

Your analysis of your particular problem should give you a better understanding of the factors contributing to it. Once you have analyzed your local problem and established a baseline for measuring effectiveness, you should consider possible responses to address the problem.

The following responses, drawing from a variety of research studies and police reports, provide a foundation of ideas for addressing your particular problem. Several of these responses may apply to your community's problem. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different approaches. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem. Do not limit yourself to considering what police can do: give careful consideration to who else in your community shares responsibility for the problem and can help police better respond to it. The responsibility of responding, in some cases, may need to be shifted toward those who have the capacity to implement more effective responses. (For more detailed information on shifting and sharing responsibility, see Response Guide No. 3, Shifting and Sharing Responsibility for Public Safety Problems.)

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy

While there are a number of effective responses to protect cars that are parked in parking lots or facilities, there are fewer clearly effective solutions that local police can implement to prevent thefts from residential streets and driveways. The streets on which cars are parked may be wide or narrow, treed or bare of vegetation, and lit or unlit; the risks of theft vary according to these environments. The fact that streets and the driveways attached to them are accessible to everyone makes cars very vulnerable. Probably the most effective response for car owners is not to park their cars in the open streets or driveways. Of course, many car owners, especially in more densely populated residential areas, are forced to park on the streets because they do not have garages or driveways.

The capacity to prevent theft of cars and their components at the local level is limited, especially when cars are parked on the street where they are easily accessible at any time of the day, with few obstacles in the way of the thief. The solution in large part depends on car manufacturers, who have begun in recent years to design cars that are much more secure from theft, and on car insurers, who have demanded that cars be designed with security as a major concern, just as they did previously in regard to car safety. 12 Obviously, at the local level, police must respond to the problem regardless of the level of security built into the cars in that vicinity.

Because there is little evaluative research available on this problem, it is uncertain how effective many of the responses described below are. They are nonetheless grounded in accepted crime prevention principles.

• Steering column locks, which require an ignition key to unlock steering, have been shown as far back as 1970 to be effective in reducing car theft in Europe.13
• Tracking systems, which use a transmitter within the car to send Global Positioning System (GPS) signals reporting the vehicle location to police, have been found effective in locating the stolen car. 14
• Electronic immobilizers, which disable the electrical systems at several points, require the owner to authenticate with a transponder or PIN-code to start the car. Immobilizers have reduced car theft in Western Australia, where their installation has been mandated not only for newly manufactured cars but for older models as well.15
• Car ID security measures include inscribing ID information on car parts or on cars themselves using micro-dot technologies, as well as automatic license plate recognition and VIN etching. There is some initial evidence that these new technologies may work.16

The majority of these effective responses for reducing thefts of cars require national or statewide action, which may be beyond the reach of your local agency.§

§ Reforms such as tightening vehicle registration rules require legislative or state agency action.

There are also some after-market security devices and systems that enjoy wide popularity. These include:

• Mechanical barriers or locks where the steering wheel or brake pedal is "locked down" with a bar. These should be effective, especially as we know that steering column locks work, but there is no evaluative research available. The common sense advantage of these devices is that they are clearly visible to thieves who may prefer to steal a car that is unlocked and without any visible security system.
• Sirens and pager alarms that signal a break-in to the owner. No evaluative research is available as to effectiveness.
• Steering column collars that make access to the ignition electronics more difficult.

New technologies have shown promise in reducing car theft.17 The local police role with respect to car security systems might be to advocate their use by local car owners.

All of the above systems, whether manufacturer installed or added later, may be effective against theft of cars, but they will do little to prevent theft from cars.

As we have seen, cars are generally safer in driveways than parked on streets, but this will depend to some extent on the length of the driveway, shrubbery, lighting, and other factors that affect natural surveillance. Some preventive responses to protect driveways have been found effective—such as those that increase the risk to the offender in carrying out burglaries of single-family houses§—there is little research that evaluates the responses outlined below. Many of the examples reported are of promising programs, but because they were not scientifically evaluated it is difficult to rule out other explanations of reported effectiveness.

§ See Problem-Specific Guide No. 18, Burglary of Single-family Houses.

Many common sense techniques may be applied locally, though they may often depend on car owner and property owner action in order to implement them. In fact, some police agencies have found that community residents do not secure their personal property as well as they should.18 Unsecured cars, cars with valuables left in plain view, poor house and street lighting, and vegetation or other features that provide concealment for thieves are commonplace. Thus, educating citizens often plays a central part in any prevention program adopted by a local police department.19

§ Problem-Solving Tools Guide No. 5, Partnering with Businesses to Address Public Safety Problems, describes the steps police should take in developing productive relationships with businesses.

§§ See the website of the International CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) Association at www.cpted.net for further information about the relationship between neighborhood design and crime.

• San Diego police instituted a one-day training session for its officers who were patrolling a district that had experienced more than 1,500 thefts from cars in one year—all within one square mile.22
• The California Highway Patrol instituted a 40-hour Vehicle Theft Investigation Course, held nine times per year, as part of a multi-faceted effort to reduce car crime.23

Specific Responses to Reduce Thefts of and from Cars on Residential Streets and Driveways

The specific responses are classified into three areas: security, education and enforcement. However all three are closely related, and it is likely that any program aimed at reducing thefts of and from cars will include responses from all three areas.

Security

At this suburban home, the configuration of the house, the fencing and vegetation makes the vehicles observable only from the street. The motion light (on the garage) could help to deter a thief. Credit: Todd Keister

 

• Working with local town or village officials to add additional street lighting to a problem location can serve to make criminals uncomfortable as they walk the streets looking for targets.§
• Encouraging homeowners to install and utilize additional lighting around their homes can also deter thieves. Including this information in town newsletters and flyers, and during presentations at community meetings, are effective means of disseminating this information.

§ Henrico County, Virginia police (2001) coordinated a program in which homeowners shared the costs of additional street lighting to deter thefts from cars.

Vegetation and carport structures such as those pictured here can provide cover for thieves. Encouraging property owners to remove or modify such features can help reduce the occurrence of theft. Credit: Todd Keister

Local public works or highway department officials may be able to aid in trimming low branches along the street or other vegetation in undeveloped areas to improve visibility and remove readily available concealment for thieves.27

Parking lot barriers such as these can serve as a method of ensuring access to ony authorized vehicles. They also create the appearance that they area is "secured" in some way. Credit: Todd Keister

 

§ See Response Guide No. 2, Closing Streets and Alleys to Reduce Crime for a more detailed account of this response to a variety of problems.

The use of video surveillance cameras such as the one pictured above may serve as a visual deterrent to thieves and a reminder that someone may be watching or recording their activities. Credit: Todd Keister

The primary utility of video surveillance lies in increasing potential offenders' perceived risk of getting caught, rather than in real-time monitoring for identification or apprehension of offenders. Prominently posted signs indicating that the area is under surveillance, combined with media publicity, may enhance the effect of video surveillance, though evaluative research has produced mixed results. Finally, the installation of video cameras in some suburban neighborhoods may be opposed by local citizen groups because of their intrusiveness. Their acceptance would most likely depend on how serious the problem of theft of and from cars was in the neighborhood.§

§ For a comprehensive assessment of using video surveillance see Response Guide No. 4., Video Surveillance of Public Places.

Education

• Distributing information flyers and brochures to residences in areas experiencing thefts from cars34, §§§
• Attending community meetings and making presentations regarding the nature and extent of the problem and steps vehicle owners can take to guard against theft
• Erecting signs warning citizens parking in a shopping mall lot not to leave valuables in their vehicles35
• Issuing press releases to newspapers, radio, and television media outlets
• Holding press conferences along with local government officials and/or community groups
• Placing notices in neighborhood and association newsletters
• Placing notices on the windshields of unsecured vehicles and those with valuables in plain view, indicating that the vehicle was vulnerable to theft36
• Enclosing information about insurance discounts available to customers who have anti-theft devices installed on their vehicles in regular insurance company mailings

§ See Response Guide No. 5, Crime Prevention Publicity Campaigns, for further information about the effectiveness of publicity campaigns.

 §§ See the Hampshire Constabulary's (2004) Operation Cobra for an example of a comprehensive car crime publicity campaign. 

§§§ Vehicle theft prevention brochures are available online at no charge from the National Crime Prevention Council (www.ncpc.org) as well as the National Insurance Crime Bureau (www.nicb.org).

Among the most important messages to convey to car owners are the following:

• Vehicles are safer in a garage, more at risk in a driveway, and much more at risk on the street.
• Buying a late model car will also ensure that modern security systems have been installed. Checking the ratings of most stolen models may also indicate to the owner what cars are at risk.
• If car owners must park their cars on the street, advising the installation of after market security systems, especially those that are clearly visible to the thief, is probably better than nothing.

Enforcement

• Unmarked patrol units can be used to monitor the area and to track and identify suspicious individuals in the neighborhood.
• Coral Springs, Florida police utilized foot patrols and bicycle-mounted officers in their Forest Hills Initiative aimed at reducing thefts from cars.37 These types of patrols not only increase the opportunity for police to discover offenders, but also improve their chances of apprehending these perpetrators who typically are on foot.

§ The IMPACT Team in British Columbia has launched a website (www.baitcar.com) where citizens can view in-car video of the thefts and subsequent arrests involving bait cars. The site includes crime prevention tips, and has generated thousands of daily hits. They have recently launched new initiatives including bait Alternative Terrain Vehicles, motorcycles, boats, and snowmobiles.

Responses With Limited Effectiveness

Neighborhood Watch signs are ubiquitous in many suburban areas and are generally ineffective, as suggested by the graffiti on the sign. Credit: Todd Keister

Some examples of diversion programs aimed at young auto thieves are:

• The youth and probation services in High Wycombe, United Kingdom initiated a program known as Skidz, that provides at-risk young people with free access to automotive mechanical training and driver education, as well as literacy and job training services.44
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Williams Lake, British Columbia discovered through their analysis that young First Nation males were responsible for the majority of the rampant auto theft in the area. Working with tribal leaders from the nearby reservation, they established programs for diversion of first offenders. In addition, they set up programs of educational and cultural exchange between members of the civilian and law enforcement communities of the city, and with the youth of the reservation. The result was a reduction in the car theft rate and improvement in overall relations between the two communities.45 This finding remains tentative however, because of lack of controls in the research design.