WARNINGS that motorists should keep their car keys out of view are not being heeded as TRACKER reports that so far in 2004 a massive 80% of the stolen vehicles the company has retrieved have been stolen with the keys.
Since 1999, when car key thefts accounted for nearly one-fifth of all vehicles retrieved by the company, TRACKER, the UK's leading stolen vehicle recovery specialist, has seen a steady rise in the number of thefts of cars with keys. Prior to 1999, car key thefts remained stable at 10-15%.
Car-jackings, on the other hand, appear to be on the decrease. Car-jacking incidents peaked at 3.3% in 2001 and have fallen year on year ever since. So far in 2004, TRACKER has recorded only three vehicle thefts of this style, 0.9% of all TRACKER-fitted thefts. Furthermore, vehicle crime overall has fallen by 34% since 1997 according to the British Crime Survey.
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