Dear Resident, 

I hope you have had a lovely weekend. Welcome to the first week of March’s A-Z of Crime Prevention newsletter. Let’s get straight into this week’s discussion topic which is the crime of ‘Interference with a Motor Vehicle’. This forms part of the overarching topic of vehicle crime which remains a priority for your Neighbourhood Policing Team due to it being a volume crime. 

Vehicle Interference comes under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 and exists so that individuals who attempt to steal from a motor vehicle can be held criminally responsible. Any person who interferes with a motor vehicle, trailer, or anything carried in or on a motor vehicle, with the intention of (a) stealing the vehicle, b) stealing anything within the vehicle), or (c) subsequently taking away the vehicle and driving it without consent, is guilty of this offence. 

This means that if you see someone who has tried a car door handle and it is your belief that they have done this in order to steal something within the vehicle, this person has already committed an offence. Vehicle theft is a volume crime, which means it is one of the most common crimes recorded and investigated by the Police. Often, opportunist thieves will try their luck by trying vehicle door handles in the hope that a vehicle is unlocked and insecure. Unfortunately, from the operations we have carried out in hotspot areas, this crime pays as many people leave their vehicles unlocked and vulnerable to vehicle crime. Since January 1st 2025, we have received 31 reports of vehicle interference in the St Albans and Harpenden districts, but we suspect the true figure to be much higher since some people don’t realise it is an offence even if nothing is stolen and some people simply don’t report to the Police.

Please remember to lock your vehicle whenever you leave it unattended. 

If you have any questions about vehicle interference, please press ‘Reply’ at the bottom of this message to get in touch with us directly. We’d be happy to discuss any concerns you may have. 

As always, thank you for reading. 

Kind regards,

Fiona.