As the election campaigns continue to pick up pace ahead of the national poll in nine days’ time, Mr S has been digging into some of the problems facing voters across the country. One issue stood out: crime. Sir Keir’s party has insisted it will cut down on antisocial behaviour and has this morning pledged to ‘take back our streets’. Steerpike would also point Starmer’s lefty lot focus in the direction of car theft – as it’s a growing epidemic in Britain’s capital city…
The number of stolen cars logged in London has increased at a rather alarming rate since 2021, according to figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request from the Metropolitan Police. In that year, 18,000 cars were separated from their owners, but in 2023, the number is closer to 24,000 – a third higher. Land Rover owners beware: during this time, owners of the countryside classic have been especially targeted, with just under 10,000 of the 4x4s nabbed by nifty robbers since 2021. Other high prestige cars also made the top five most commonly-nicked makes, with Mercedes-Benz taking second place – at 7,000 thefts – and BMWs coming in fourth with 5,500 cars pinched.
It wasn’t just top-tier brands that thieves had their eyes on. Ford, the original family-man brand, was the third most common make to get stolen, with more than 6,000 of the American vehicles going missing from London’s streets between 2021 and 2023. Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen all made the top ten list too, while Kia brought up the rear with the brand seeing 2,000 thefts.
And Mr S has some advice for anyone in the city considering buying a new set of wheels. Thefts of rather flashy rides are on the rise. In 2022, four Aston Martins were pinched – but this increased to 14 last year. Meanwhile Ferrari theft shot up from two to 47 between 2022 and 2023. And Porsche theft more than doubled in 2023 from the previous year, when 280 of the German automobiles were taken from their owners. You can blame the burglars for many things but having bad taste clearly isn’t one of them…
Take a look at the stats here:
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