This weekend the weather in Britain is expected to reach a chilly -9 in places, which can only mean one thing to most drivers – de-frosting their vehicles before they head off. We’ve already highlighted to our readers many opportunistic thieves are now making the most of the cold weather and simply driving away with residents cars, as they might head indoors to enjoy the warmth whilst waiting on their vehicle to de-frost.

According to one source over 50 vehicles are stolen every day using the owner’s keys. The worry is, as the weather temperature falls below zero, residents will leave their keys unattended in the ignition as the car heats-up, and the aforementioned figure is set to rise sharply.

It’s worth remembering, that if your car ‘simply disappears‘ whilst the keys are in the ignition, most insurance companies will NOT pay out as ‘you didn’t take adequate protection against theft‘.

If you have too defrost your windscreens then we recommend you use a de-icer or invest in a decent scraper (and some wooly gloves) which will quickly remove the ice from the vehicles windows. However, if you do have to leave your vehicle while it’s de-frosting, even if it’s for only a few seconds, then we at Crime Prevention Products recommend that you use proper vehicle security devices which will prevent any opportunistic thief simply driving off with your vehicle as the temperatures plummet.

This time last year the people of Britain were just getting over the snow when the temperatures plummeted to a bone chilling -18. Workers, students and even parents on the school run had to wait till their car had defrosted before making their trip out onto the roads. Leaving cars on the driveway, with their engines running, it’s hardly surprising to learn that nearly 9,000 vehicles across the UK were stolen in just 36 days at the beginning of 2011 (source).

Once again, opportunistic thieves are making the most of the colder weather, thus leaving South Yorkshire police with no option but to issue a warning to drivers after six cars were stolen by Frost-Jackers within a few short days. Owners had left their car unattended, with the engine running, while defrosting the vehicle.

While we would never recommend that you leave your car running unattended while defrosting the vehicle, we also understand that some people may have to pop into their homes for a few seconds, which is why we provide vehicle security devices such as Security Parking Posts to ensure that no one, but yourself, will drive off in your defrosted car.

We all have certain dreams and ambitions for our children that we wish them to aspire too as they grow older. For some it’s College and/or University, while for others we hope they find a good job with decent money and prospects. For most young people a rite of passage into adulthood is learning to drive and then having a vehicle to get about in. However, one of the major problems, that many young people face after having passed their driving test, is that insurance premiums are so high for newer models, they have no option but to purchase an older, cheaper vehicle that fits in with their budget.

However, one of the biggest problems with purchasing an ‘older’ second hand car is that its alarm system may have been disabled or it just doesn’t have one. Leaving the car vulnerable to the opportunistic thief.

Over the last few years, car theft has seen a dramatic decline. Fact is, car theft has fallen from more than 1.1 million thefts a year in 1997 to just 456,000 in 2010 (source, opens in new window). This reduction in car crime can be attributed to the fact that new cars come with a host of security features including alarms, immobilisers and sophisticated tracking systems unlike older models.

When it comes to protecting your car, old or new, Crime Prevention Products can supply a host of vehicle security products that will help stop your ‘pride and joy’ from being targetted by car thiefs.

This year millions of people will be leaving their homes, climbing into their vehicles and heading off to either work, visiting family & friends or just doing their weekly shopping. The disturbing fact is that last year there were over 222,000 reported vehicle accidents on British roads (source), although we still have one of the best road accident records in Europe this still equates to nearly 6 deaths on our road every single day.

When people head out on their journeys they don’t plan on having a accident, these often happen in circumstances in which they have no control over. However, one fear that most people have regarding road safety, if they were to become involved in an accident, is being trapped in their vehicles.

If you were to have an accident and your seatbelt became trapped or your doors were jammed shut, what would you do?

Crime Prevention Products have now a new range of products all intended to protect you in the up-coming winter months and one of the best products for roaccident emergencies is the Emergency Life Hammer – a dual purpose windscreen hammer & seat belt cutter.

This is the perfect item that no vehicle should be without, simply fix it below your seat and hopefully you’ll never need to use it.

With the final few days left in the mid-term break, many caravan owners thoughts will be turning to the security of their mobile homes over the long winter months ahead. As they pull into their drives for the last time of the year it will be all hands onboard, as they begin to remove the bedding, kitchen utensils, curtains before finally deflating the tyres, removing the water and gas bottles then locking the door till early next May.

As they lay dormant in the drive or lockup – we may ponder just how safe are they really? Of course that’s not to say you just don’t bother and make it easy for thieves. Many of our possessions are stolen by opportunistic thieves so if you have a good visible deterrent then chances are that they will bypass your goods.
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Crime Reduction Officer, PC Tim Cuthbert, warned today of the rising trend in thieves to target against caravan and holiday parks. Speaking about the latest spate of caravan and mobile home breakin-ins, PC Cuthbert said “Criminals often target these at this time of year, as they know that people can be carrying out maintenance or preparing for their summer holidays.”
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Motor theft has the potential to spiral in the Summer months with the light nights which encourages more youths to camp out and the influx of tourists. Although it has dropped significantly in the last few years. Car crime accounts for about 13% of all crime in England and Wales (Home office). Most car crime is opportunistic so there are several things that can be done to prevent theft.

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