Press Releases
Beat car crime and screw car thieves (PR 990)
Free anti-theft number plate screws and tamper-proof tax disc holders will be on offer at the borough’s first Beat Car Crime Roadshow this weekend.
The event kicks off a series of roadshows across the borough to raise awareness of car crime and how to protect your vehicle from becoming a target. The events have been organised and funded by Ealing Council with support from Ealing Police.
The first roadshow will be staged at Stanhope Primary School, on Mansell Road in Greenford, from 10am to 3pm on Sunday (3 June).
Residents are invited to stop by to have free anti-theft screws fitted to their car’s number plates. Free tamper-free tax disc holders will also be available.
Members of the Council’s Community Safety Team and Greenford Broadway Safer Neighbourhood Police Team will be on hand to provide information and advice on how to reduce the likelihood of your vehicle becoming a target.
Councillor Sue Emment, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, said: “Motor vehicle crime is the most common crime committed across the borough and we are working with police to raise awareness and reduce it.
“We hope local residents will drop by and equip themselves with the latest crime prevention knowledge and devices.”
Tan Afzal, Ealing Council’s Community Safety Liaison Officer for the Greenford, Northolt and Perivale area, said: “Motor vehicle crime tends to be opportunistic so make sure your car is not an easy target.
“Most importantly, take your valuables with you and remember to lock up.”
Making Ealing’s communities safer is one of the Council’s three priorities. The other two priorities are cleaner streets and providing value for money services.
Motor vehicle crime accounted for 18% of the borough’s total crime offences between 1 April last year and 31 March this year.
Items are often stolen from vehicles by individuals who need money quickly, including people with drug or gambling addictions.
Valuable items commonly stolen include satellite navigation (sat nav) equipment, mobile phones, handbags, cash, laptops, number plates, tax discs and mobility discs.
Number plates can usually be easily removed by unscrewing the screws that fix them to the vehicle. Anti-theft screws cannot be unscrewed easily once fitted and remain fixed.
From Greenford, the roadshow will travel to other parts of the borough. Between 10.30am to 4pm on 14 and 15 June the roadshow will visit The Oaks car park on Churchfield Road in Acton, before travelling on to Featherstone Terrace car park in Southall (noon to 3pm, 16 June and 7 July). On 10 July, from 2-7pm, the roadshow will be based on Ealing Common.
For further information please call the Council’s Community Safety Team on (020) 8825 7600.
Motor vehicle crime prevention advice:
· If you have an alarm, activate it.
· Do not leave any valuables in your car regardless of
how long you are gone - it takes just a second to smash the window
and steal your property. Also open the glove compartment to show
there is nothing inside.
· If you own a sat nav system, remove the main device,
the cradle and any wires. Never leave the cradle on show and the
sat nav in your vehicle (eg in the glove compartment).
· Keep your keys safe. Even when you are at home, do not
leave them on the hall table or where they can be seen from the
front door.
· Electrical goods such as MP3 players, laptops, mobiles
and sat nav systems should be registered with
www.immobilise.com and
marked with an ultra-violet pen.