Business leads campaign to tackle driveway car thefts

Avocet Hardware is drawing attention to the ease with which cars are being stolen from driveways across the country – and highlighting just how easy it is to prevent it.

The company, which is the security sponsor of the European Neighbourhood Watch Association (EUNWA), has acted after police figures showed that car theft incidents had risenacross the UK by eight per cent in the year to March 2016.

Clive Lloyd, managing director of Avocet Hardware, said: “Car thefts are significantly lower than they were twenty years ago, but the fact they are now on the rise demonstrate that thieves have found a way to circumvent the in-car technology that played such an important role in their decline in the first place.”

“Today, newspaper report after newspaper report tells the same story – vehicles are being stolen from driveways following break-ins where the only things stolen are the car keys. Meaning the advanced nature of the car and its security technology doesn’t matter a jot. And when you dig deeper into these stories you’ll find, more often than not, that the break-in was achieved through lock-snapping.”

Lock-snapping is a form of forced entry that has grown in popularity in recent years. It affects Euro cylinder locks that are fitted, as standard, in all uPVC and double glazed doors, and can be carried out quickly and quietly with nothing more complicated than a pair of standard pliers.

Avocet praised the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders which joined forces with the Government, police and insurance bodies earlier this year, to try and understand the nature of modern day car theft and develop solutions to tackle it. The aim of the SMMT-led campaign is to inform vehicle owners about the hidden dangers and the steps they can take to secure their vehicles.

“We applaud SMMT, and everyone else involved in this campaign, but its guidelines for safeguarding your car fail to mention the risk of cars being stolen as a result of lock-snapping,” said Mr Lloyd.

“Our intention is to reverse this trend – and we feel that by simply installing a proven snap-secure lock is a major step towards that goal will be achieved.”