00:00This video from Kent Police shows what they believe is a chop shop where stolen cars are
00:04stripped down, taken apart and sold on. The site near Gravesend was raided by the law enforcement
00:09earlier this month. And this is the moment where police arrested two men after a porch
00:14was stolen in Birchington in Thanet earlier this year. As a whole, car theft in Kent is
00:20going down, with a decrease of more than 500 thefts between 2024 and 2025. But they do still
00:27occur and I want to find out where and why. Looking at information available online, we
00:33can see that certain areas of the county are higher above the national average rate for
00:37vehicle crime here in the UK, with Dartford, Medway and Maidstone being particularly high.
00:42And while this data does get us where we need to be, it doesn't exactly open the door
00:48when it comes to car theft. Well, vehicle crime does account for car theft but it also includes items
00:54taken from a car, any parts taken from it, like a catalytic converter, and it also includes any
00:59damage done to the car. So I need a sense of where in Kent is worse off for specifically vehicle
01:04theft.
01:05And something I've noticed in talking to people is that oftentimes certain areas are targeted by
01:10thieves or gangs rather than individuals, leading to more areas using car protection services.
01:16People either see that a neighbour has had a car stolen or, you know, on their sort of street
01:21WhatsApp group, someone saying like, ah, we saw some people snooping around last night,
01:25you know, trying doors, flashlights, that sort of thing. So a lot of people call us and they're
01:29like, we're really worried that there's going to be another attempt tonight or my neighbour's,
01:33you know, car has been gone, maybe I'll be next. On our own systems that there's like little hot
01:38spots of streets. It's almost like we can track where crime is happening and then we can usually
01:43say, okay, we're sure that over the last few weeks there's been a lot of crime in this area
01:48because we're getting so many calls from this one little area and we can usually track it through
01:51a county or through an area, which is really strange.
01:54With car theft, prevention is key, whether it's using trackers, installing bollards or
01:59anti-key cloning technology. But for those who have already had their car taken, it can have a huge
02:04financial impact and people might not be aware that standard insurance coverage isn't always going
02:09to cover all your bases.
02:10With a theft claim, unfortunately, quite often, you're not entitled to a courtesy car,
02:15car, which is one of the difficulties that people experience, particularly if they're
02:20reliant on their vehicle for work purposes or for childcare. But where the vehicle is not
02:25being taken away and repaired, that is not something you're often covered for.
02:29I think now, particularly given the cost of living crisis post-pandemic, people are so focused on
02:34the price that actually what the policy covers is a consideration much further down the line.
02:40And unfortunately, I think some of these things don't come to people's minds until there's
02:43actually an incident until something actually occurs or until you experience it, unfortunately.
02:48According to Kent police, they say they're committed to tackling vehicle theft and where
02:52there's sufficient evidence, they'll always seek to secure charges and bring offenders to justice.
02:57Vehicle theft is often carried out by opportunistic thieves and also by organized criminal groups.
03:02And due to our proximity to the ports and to London, we often see these groups traveling into
03:06Kent to commit crime. Here in Kent, car theft is going down. But people, their vehicles and their
03:12finances are still being affected. And with the crime often seeing specific areas targeted, car owners,
03:17knowing where in the county is more frequently hit, how they can prevent the theft and how best
03:21they can prepare themselves, if it does happen, is more important than ever. Finn McDermid for KMTV.
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