Car Crime

Objectives

This unit will examine the high percentage of people involved in car crime through examining:

the role of the World Trade Organisation
the advantages and disadvantages of free trade and protectionism
the deregulation of global finance and the Tobin Tax
the characteristics of multinational companies (MNCs)
the impact of MNCs across the world on international trade, human rights and democracy.

Background (also the answers to Activity Sheet 1)

One fifth of all recorded crime is car crime. This costs the UK £3.5 billion per year.

The British Crime Survey 2001/02 uses the term ‘vehicle crime/car crime’ to collectively refer to the following offences:

thefts and attempted thefts of vehicles – where there is an attempt to deprive the owner of the vehicle.
unauthorised taking of a vehicle – where the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the vehicle is not evident. This would typically include ‘joy-riding’, where the car is later found abandoned and is recovered.
aggravated vehicle taking – where a vehicle, once taken, is known to have been driven dangerously, damaged, or caused an accident.
thefts and attempted thefts from a vehicle – when the offenders have targeted property left inside or on the vehicle, or component parts of the vehicle, rather than the vehicle itself.
vehicle interference – which includes attempts to drive a vehicle away without apparent intent to permanently deprive the owner.
criminal damage to a vehicle or vehicle vandalism – where there is no apparent ulterior motive to commit any of the crimes already mentioned.

(As defined by the British Crime Survey)

Items most commonly stolen from a vehicle

The most frequently stolen items from cars are the external parts: hubcaps, badges, wheels, and so on. From the interior of cars, the most frequently stolen items are stereo and CD equipment, bags, briefcases, cameras and mobile phones.

Taking without consent (TWOC)

Taking without consent refers to the offence of the unauthorised taking of a vehicle without the owner’s consent, but where the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the vehicle is not evident.

Inner cities have the highest recorded levels of vehicle crime. In rural areas, the number of domestic garages helps to prevent the theft from, and of, motor vehicles. However, the significantly lower levels of vehicle crime in rural areas cannot be solely attributed to the number of domestic garages and it is worthy of note that crime in general is more prevalent in inner city areas, where the levels of social deprivation and poverty are higher.

Young male involvement in car crime

According to the British Crime Survey 2001, 97 per cent of offenders charged with car crime were male. 63 per cent of those arrested and taken into custody for TWOC were under twenty-one years old. The vast majority of people who steal cars are male and between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five. Most start doing it when they are between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. Many are persuaded into car crime by their friends.

The age of criminal responsibility is ten. Any child, irrespective of the seriousness of the crime, cannot be charged if they are ten or younger. However, if a child ten years old or younger did commit a serious crime, then this would obviously raise concerns for this child and their future, and the incident would be drawn to the attention of the parents, school and social services, to try and help prevent any repetition of this behaviour.

The Youth Court

If you are seventeen or younger and commit a criminal offence, your case will be heard in a Youth Court. The case would only go to the Crown Court if the charges were extremely serious and sometimes if the co-defendants (other people being charged with you) are over eighteen. The Youth Courts are far more informal than the Crown Court and they have a broader range of penalties that they can impose. The principle of the Youth Court is to take a more personal view of crime and to look at the perpetrator and their background to see what is most likely to prevent them committing another crime.

Youth Offending Teams

Each Youth Court will have a Youth Offending Team. The team’s principle aim is to prevent offending by children and young people. The team is a multi-agency and has representatives from the police, probation, health and education services. The Youth Offender Team is usually divided into two smaller teams: the Early Intervention Team and the Community Intervention Team. (The Citizenship for You teacher pack includes role-play materials for a Youth Offender Team case meeting.)

The Early Intervention Team works with those in the earlier stages of their offending. If a young person receives a reprimand or a final warning (these have replaced cautions), the Youth Offender Team will be informed by the police. The team may then decide to involve the young person in some mentoring scheme or offence-related programme. The programmes are voluntary and the young person does not have to participate, but failure to do so could be mentioned at court if he or she should re-offend.

The Community Supervision Team works with the more serious and persistent young offenders.

Drugs, alcohol and car crime

Drug testing on defendants being held for theft of a motor vehicle or for taking a vehicle without consent revealed that many were under the influence of drugs. A smaller percentage, but still significant, were under the influence of alcohol.

In 1998, of those tested who were held for theft of a motor vehicle:

23 per cent tested positive for opiates (heroin, morphine, opium)
31 per cent tested positive for amphetamines (speed).

Of those tested for taking a vehicle without consent:

73 per cent tested positive for cannabis
36 per cent tested positive for alcohol

(Source: www.crimereduction.gov.uk/toolkits/vc020403/)

Useful websites