--- title: "Liverpool South Vehicle Crime" type: "pdf" year: "2008" canonical: "/projects/767" --- # Herman Goldstein 2008 Awards # Table of Contents - [Herman Goldstein 2008 Awards](#herman-goldstein-2008-awards) - [Application form](#application-form) - [Details of application](#details-of-application) - [Chief Inspector Mark HARRISON](#chief-inspector-mark-harrison) - [Summary of application](#summary-of-application) - [Section 3: Description of project](#section-3-description-of-project) - [SCAN \& ANALYSIS](#scan-analysis) - [RESPONSE](#response) - [Offenders](#offenders) - [Victims/locations](#victimslocations) - [EVALUATION](#evaluation) - [Outputs](#outputs) - [Offenders](#offenders) - [Victims/ Locations](#victims-locations) - [Data Analysis](#data-analysis) - [Most Similar BCU's](#most-similar-bcus) - [Sanction Detections against target](#sanction-detections-against-target) - [Reduction in thefts of Satellite Navigation](#reduction-in-thefts-of-satellite-navigation) - [POLICE](#police) ## Application form ## Details of application Title of the project: Liverpool South vehicle Crime Name of force: Merseyside Police Force Name of one contact person with position and/or rank (this should be one of the authors): ## Chief Inspector Mark HARRISON Email address: mark.harrison@merseyside.police.uk Full postal address: Wallasey Police Station - Manor Road, Wallasey, United Kingdom CH44 1DA Telephone number: 07736869242 ## Summary of application The project involves a multi agency, intelligence led, problem solving approach to addressing vehicle crime in the Liverpool South Basic Command Unit. The application will evidence a reduction in vehicle crime as outlined below:- - $51.60 \%$ for offences of theft from motor vehicle - $29.40 \%$ for offences of theft of motor vehicle and unauthorised taking of a conveyance - $43.70 \%$ for offences of all recorded vehicle crime The application will evidence an improvement in sanctioned detections as outlined below:- - Increased from $0.9 \%$ to $9.6 \%$ for offences of theft from motor vehicle - Increased from $6.7 \%$ to $13.1 \%$ for theft of motor vehicle and unauthorised taking of a conveyance - Increased from $3.0 \%$ to $11.2 \%$ for all recorded vehicle crime The application will evidence a $30 \%$ reduction in the theft of satellite navigation systems. Analysis was carried out and key stakeholders identified from partner agencies, a multi agency vehicle crime steering group was set up. The group utilised the "problem solving" ethos based around interventions for victims, offenders and locations. Expertise was recruited such as Architectural Liaison Officers who carried out crime reduction risk assessments at locations identified by the analysis. Plan managers were identified from the group who were held accountable for driving the interventions and delivering the outputs to achieve the overall goal of reducing vehicle crime and improving sanctioned detections. The project involved using young people in local Schools right across Liverpool to help reduce the theft of satellite navigation systems as well as using the very latest technology to fight crime. The project demonstrates the use of problem solving, the interventions were not "quick fixes" but were long term and sustainable. There are numerous other documents that can be provided as evidence to support this application as outlined below:- - Analysis - Ten crime reduction risk assessments including pictures - Terms of reference for the multi agency vehicle crime steering group - Minutes from the multi agency vehicle crime group meetings - Winning entry for the Schools competition - Forensic examination of vehicles policy - Offences taken into consideration booklet - Artwork for tamper proof tax discs - Artwork for the design of the signage - Specification for the CCTV cameras The project also impacted on customer satisfaction due to the reduction in crime but also the improved quality of service to victims in terms of the forensic examination of vehicles subject of a crime. # Section 3: Description of project This project commenced in July 2006 when vehicle crime was identified as a significant problem within the Liverpool South BCU, in order to address the problem the BCU sought funding from the Local Authority and were allocated a total amount in the Region of $£ 43,000$ from the LSPA funding stream. The Liverpool South BCU were performing to an acceptable standard for theft of motor vehicles but theft from motor vehicles was identified as a problem and a risk area as outlined below:- March 06 - 215 offences April 06 - 200 offences May 06 - 215 offences This was against a target of 158, which is a significant number over target, the BCU also had a poor sanctioned detection rate and were ranked worst in the force and $14^{\text {th }}$ out of 15 in their most similar BCU comparison group. # SCAN \& ANALYSIS Detailed analysis of the problem was carried out using Police and Fire service data, the analysis looked at both theft of motor vehicles and theft from motor vehicles. It contained performance data across the Force and within the Liverpool South BCU, the data looked at the following issues:- - Crimes per thousand residents in the Force/BCU also comparing this to other Force/BCU areas - Trends month by month - Sanctioned detection rates for the Force/BCU and how they compare to other Force/BCU - Categories of property stolen - Drive offs - Burn outs - Stolen registration plates - Theft of motor cycles - Anti social use of vehicles - Criminal damage - Burglaries with stolen motor vehicles In addition to the above the top ten hotspots within the BCU being identified, as part of the scanning and analysis phase each of these hotspots were visited by an architectural liaison officer who then completed a very detailed report drilling down into the possible causes of the problem. The report contained pictures of the locations and at the conclusion made a number of recommendations that would be required to be made in order to reduce vehicle crime at the location. An example of the analysis and the crime reduction risk assessments are available electronically and can be provided as supporting evidence. ## RESPONSE All stake holders were identified and a multi agency vehicle crime steering group was set up consisting of Police and partner agencies, at the first meeting a presentation was delivered to paint a picture of the problem. The multi agency group then agreed a terms of reference that contained the following:- - Aims and objectives - Performance framework - What does success look like - Frequency of meetings A copy of the terms of reference is available electronically and can be supplied as supporting evidence. Minutes were completed for this and subsequent meetings and can be provided as supporting evidence for this application The minutes were in the form of a table that identified actions, who was responsible and a timescale for completion of those actions. The group discussed the analysis in detail and compared the top ten locations identified with their own available data. Each of the ten locations were then allocated a Plan Manager from the group, the Plan Managers were to be held accountable for driving the recommendations within the assessment. The group then looked at the analysis and implemented the following responses based on Offenders, Victims and Locations:- # Offenders Operation Stack - The BCU worked with Comet and Argos, utilising one of their delivery vehicles stocked with empty electrical boxes. The van was left insecure in hotspot locations with officers hidden in the back behind the boxes with a Police dog patrol. The officers would pounce when offenders attempted to steal property from the vehicle. This resulted in the arrest of 14 offenders in a 3 week period, all the offenders were well known vehicle crime offenders to the Police, some received terms of imprisonment due to their offending history. All offenders were charged with attempt theft from motor vehicle, Police officers would oppose bail and in the event of bail, would apply for stringent bail conditions that were robustly policed daily. Decoy vehicles - The BCU obtained 2 decoy vehicles, fitted with camera recording equipment in both door panels. Satellite navigation systems were purchased and fitted with tracking devices. The vehicles were parked up unattended in hotspot locations and left for long periods of time, this is not resource intensive and no observations were kept on the vehicle. When the satellite navigation system was stolen, tracker would alert the Police via a dedicated contact number and the system would then be tracked. The pictures could be down loaded from the vehicle, resulting in the arrest of the thief and a handler. It became apparent that the offenders generally disposed of the property quickly, but as a result of images obtained from the vehicles, could be subsequently identified and arrested. This commenced in early November and to date 8 handlers have been arrested and 12 principal offenders, again Police officers have opposed bail and if bail was granted they would apply for stringent bail conditions that would be robustly Policed. Schools competition -The success of the decoy vehicles was marketed in every senior School across Liverpool. By working with the Education Department a lesson plan was developed, this lesson plan outline what a tracking device was and the fact that it was being fitted to Satellite navigation systems, it was further explained that the signal could be tracked by a hands held device, Police cars and the Force Helicopter. The School children were then asked to design a car sticker to get this message over to potential thieves, that satellite navigation systems were fitted with tracking devices and if stolen the offenders would be arrested. There were prizes for $1^{\text {st }}, 2^{\text {nd }}$ and $3^{\text {rd }}$ place in addition to the prize for best slogan. The prizes were a Laptop, LCD TV, Ipod and vouchers, hundreds of entries were received for this competition from across Liverpool and the winning design was made into 10,000 car stickers. The car stickers were given out to motorist at vehicle crime prevention road shows, they were also distributed to all retail outlets who sell satellite navigation systems prior to Christmas to distribute with their product. The best slogan was also marketed via the local media, which was "Navigate your way to jail". The competition was launched by using the Force Helicopter as a "vehicle" to drive the media campaign, the idea was to get this message out to the whole community and get the maximum crime reduction benefit from marketing this tactic. Images of the offenders who were previously captured on the recording equipment stealing Satellite navigation systems were posted on the force website but also the website of all the local media outlets. The Force helicopter landed at a local School in an area effected by vehicle crime, this attracted a massive amount of media attention to get this message out into our communities, it was a very high profile event that received excellent feedback. The winning sticker is available electronically and can be submitted as supporting evidence. Forensic yields - It was recognised that the BCU was lacking in terms of forensic yields, in fact performance was poor in fingerprinting vehicles subject of crime. A BCU forensic policy was written and implemented for the examination of vehicles that were subject of a crime. The policy utilised the very latest technology by allocating hand held electronic devices to all CSI patrols. When a victim reported a crime, the vehicle would be inputted onto a CSI database, an email would then automatically be sent to a CSI who was on duty. The CSI would acknowledge the email immediately, make contact with the victim and deploy to examine the vehicle. This system not only provided an improved service to victims but it also deployed CSIs in real time so they get to the scene of the crime quickly and improve the possibility of recovering DNA or fingerprint evidence. This dramatically improved the number of vehicles examined and also improved conversion rates. A copy of the policy document is available electronically and can be submitted as supporting evidence. TIC process - It was identified that the BCU was the worst performing in the Force for TICs, in order to address this a booklet was designed and forwarded to all front line staff. This booklet contained a very easy to use guide of the TIC process, it contained a process map and included all the principals of operation cleanslate. A copy of this booklet is available as supporting evidence. ANPR - Targeted operations to disrupt vehicle crime were implemented, they were intelligence led and linked into the BCU T \& C process. The emphasis was put on vehicle seizures using powers to seize uninsured motor vehicles, it was identified that many of these older type vehicles are the type of vehicles that were being stolen on a daily basis. The ANPR used the Midas database to identify uninsured vehicles; these vehicles were then seized and if not collected in 14 days were crushed. Motorcycles - A "rat - trap" type motorcycle was deployed to hotspots, the vehicle would be left unattended with Police Officers keeping observations, it was specially designed and could not be stolen, this operation was resource intensive and used occasionally, it resulted in 2 arrests for attempt theft of motor vehicle. Warrants - There was a continual process of targeting vehicle crime offenders by executing warrants under the theft act at their home address, since July 06 in excess of 60 theft act warrants were executed at addresses of offenders to disrupt criminal activity, property such as Satellite navigation systems and CD radios were recovered. It was identified from analysis and intelligence that scrap metal dealers were being used as outlets for stolen vehicles. These types of premises were then targeted and 3 operations were put together to execute search warrants at the identified premises. These raids netted a total of nearly $£ 100,000$ worth of stolen motor vehicles were recovered, prosecutions are still impending as the result of this work. # Victims/locations Vehicle crime awareness days - The Police worked with local businesses and the AA to deliver 7 vehicle crime prevention days, they were held at identified hotspot locations such as supermarkets. A mobile police station was utilised and the following were available to the community free of charge:- - The AA would fit tamper proof screws to prevent number plate theft - Steering locks were distributed free to owners of older vehicles - Tamper proof tax discs that contained key messages on the rear were distributed free - Car stickers to warn offenders that Satellite Navigation systems were fitted with a tracker were distributed - The AA would give advice on child safety seats A copy of the artwork for the tax discs is available electronically and can be submitted as supporting evidence. Extended Police Family - A service level agreement was set up via the multi agency steering group that harnessed the energy of the extended police family, community resources such as community patrol, wardens, parking attendants were identified. They were given regular updates/briefings from the Police on current hotspot locations and patrolled these locations to provide visibility. They also had an intelligence proforma and would feedback items of intelligence to the Police. Signage - A total of 3,500 signs were purchased bearing a corporate logo and were designed to :- - Warn offenders of the presence of CCTV in the area - Warn potential victims not to leave satellite navigation systems in their vehicle - Warn potential victims not to leave property on display in their vehicles These signs were 420 mm X 600 mm , they were metal and very visible and erected on street furniture at the identified 10 hotspots, with a timetable and priority list to erect them across the BCU at identified locations where vehicles are being parked. The design of the signs is available electronically and can be submitted as supporting evidence. A sub group consisting of licensees was also set up by the licensing department, to enable the steering group to distribute these signs on all the car parks of licensed premises in the BCU. CCTV - 8 stand alone CCTV systems were purchased and fitted to existing street furniture with a power supply in 8 out of the 10 hotspot locations. When fitted, if images are captured then these images will be downloaded from a memory card in the rear of the CCTV camera onto the laptop. This is a very useful and sophisticated piece of kit, the cameras being capable of being re deployed elsewhere at a small cost. A copy of the specification of the cameras is available electronically and can be submitted as supporting evidence. Theft of Land Rover Defenders - Liverpool Airport was identified as one of the top ten locations, it was identified that Land Rover Defender type vehicles were being stolen from this location. The Plan Manager was the Airport Manager who was a member of the multi agency steering group, he put in place a system whereby all Defenders over a certain age were fitted with a Wheel clamp when they entered the car park. On returning the owner of the vehicle would ring a dedicated number and within 5 minutes have the clamp removed. This reduced the thefts to nil. Multi Agency Vehicle Crime Steering Group - The group already mentioned in this application was an integral part of delivering all the above interventions, in particular in delivering interventions at the 10 identified hotspots. A Plan Manager was identified from the group, and given the crime reduction risk assessments, they were responsible for delivering all the recommendations which included the below: - Signage - CCTV - Target patrolling - Environmental changes to design the problem out They would provide an update on progress at each meeting that was recorded within the minutes, all the minutes of these meetings are available electronically and can be submitted as supporting evidence. In addition to the multi agency steering group minutes a very comprehensive BCU vehicle crime action plan was also completed, this contained all the interventions, inputs, outputs, who is accountable and what is being targeted. This action plan is available electronically and can be submitted as supporting evidence. # EVALUATION ## Outputs Below is a summary of the outputs achieved by the response: ## Offenders - Operation Stack: 14 offenders arrested and charged with attempt Theft from Motor Vehicle - Use of Decoy Vehicles: 8 arrests for Handling Stolen Goods and 12 arrests for Theft from Motor Vehicle - Schools Competition: Competition to design a slogan to be made into 10,000 car stickers which were given out to motorists at Crime Prevention road shows and distributed by retailers who sold Satellite Navigation systems at Christmas. - Motorcycle rattrap: 2 arrests for attempt Theft of Motor Vehicle - Execution of Warrants: In excess of 60 Theft Act warrants were executed including three operations to execute warrants at Scrap Metal Dealer premises which resulted in $£ 100,000$ worth of stolen motor vehicles being recovered. ## Victims/ Locations - Seven Multi Agency Vehicle Crime Awareness days were held at key locations offering to motorists free fitting of tamper proof screws on number plates, free steering locks to owners of older vehicles, free tamper proof tax holders, free stickers warning offenders that Satellite Navigation systems were fitted with trackers and advice from AA regarding child safety seats. - Funding and subsequent purchase of 3,500 signs delivering key messages in relation to Vehicle Crime. - Funding and purchase of 8 stand alone CCTV systems. - Forensic Yields: In response to the revised forensic policy in relation to CSI attendance at reported Thefts from Motor Vehicles, the percentage of attendance in relation to offences reported for the period of Nov 06 to Jan 06 equalled $71.9 \%$ the highest recorded in the Force. ## Data Analysis To evaluate the impact of the response upon Vehicle Crime in Liverpool South BCU analysis of data in relation to the numbers of Crimes Recorded and Sanction Detections against target in the three Key Performance Indicators (KPI) Categories relevant to vehicle crime has been undertaken. The three KPI categories are: - Theft from Motor Vehicle (TFMV) - Theft of Motor Vehicle / Unauthorised Taking of Motor Vehicle (TOMV/ UTMV) - Vehicle Crime (Aggregate of the above two categories) ## Most Similar BCU's Liverpool South's performance in relation to its family of most similar BCU's (Source IQUANTA data) for both numbers of Crimes Recorded and Sanction Detections is detailed in the below table for May 2006 and January 2007 IQUANTA Most similar BCU postion for Crimes and Sanction Detections | | May-06 | | Jan-07 | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | Crimes | Sanc Det | Crimes | Sanc Det | | TFMV | 6th | 14th | 1st | 12th | | TOMV/UTMV | 5th | 13th | 5th | 8th | | Vehicle Crime | 5th | 15th | 1st | 10th | - Liverpool South rankings' for Crimes Recorded have improved for TFMV and Vehicle Crime respectively, both occupy first place in the family of fifteen most similar BCU's. - Similarly Liverpool South's Rankings' for Sanction Detections has improved for in each of the KPI Categories most significantly for TOMV / UTMV and Vehicle Crime both moving up five places in their ranking. Comparison of May 2005 to January 2006 against May 2006 to January 2007 | Crime category | No of crimes cumulative May 05 to Jan 06 | Sanction Detection \% Cumulative May 05 to Jan 06 | No of crimes cumulative May 06 to Jan 07 | Sanction Detection \% Cumulative May 06 to Jan 07 | \% Diff 05/06 to 06/07 in No of crimes | Diff in Sanction Detection Rate \% 05/06 to 06/07 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Vehicle Crime | 2628 | 4.07\% | 2153 | 6.27\% | $-18.07 \%$ | 2.2 | | TFMV | 1801 | 2.55\% | 1337 | 3.44\% | $-25.76 \%$ | 0.89 | | TOMV/ UTMV | 827 | 7.37\% | 816 | 10.91\% | $-1.33 \%$ | 3.54 | - When comparing the same period (May to Jan) to the previous year in all three KPI categories there have been reductions in the numbers of crimes recorded (Vehicle Crime 18.07 \%, TFMV $25.76 \%$ and TOMV $1.33 \%$ reductions. - Also the Sanction Detection rates in comparison increased for all three KPI categories (Vehicle Crime from $4.07 \%$ to $6.27 \%$, TFMV from $2.55 \%$ to $3.44 \%$ and TOMV from $7.37 \%$ to $10.91 \%$ ) Crimes Against Target | Analysis of crimes against Target (May 06 compared to Jan 07) | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | May-06 | | | Jan-07 | | | | | Crimes | Target | \% Diff | Crimes | Target | \% Diff | | TFMV | 215 | 164 | 23.70\% | 104 | 164 | 36.60\% | | TOMV/UTMV | 119 | 125 | 5.60\% | 84 | 125 | 32.80\% | | Vehicle Crime | 334 | 289 | 15.57\% | 188 | 289 | 34.95\% | - In May 2006 when the initial analysis of performance data in relation to Vehicle Crime was examined, the BCU was over target by $23.7 \%$ for TFMV and $15.57 \%$ for Vehicle Crime, but slightly under target by $-5.6 \%$ for TOMV/UTMV. - In January 2007 the BCU was below target for all categories TFMV -36.6\%, TOMV/UTMV -32.8\% and overall for Vehicle Crime at $-34.95 \%$ When comparing the crimes recorded in May 06 against January 07 a considerable reduction is shown in each of the categories as seen in the table below. Reduction in no of crimes May 06 compared to Jan 07 | | Difference | \% Diff | | :--: | :--: | :--: | | TFMV | -111 | $-51.60 \%$ | | TOMV/UTMV | -35 | $-29.40 \%$ | | Vehicle Crime | -146 | $-43.70 \%$ | The below table displays the performance in relation to Crimes against Target in three month periods starting from May 2006 ending in Jan 2007 | | May 06 to Jul 06 | | | Aug 06 to Oct 06 | | | Nov 06 to Jan 07 | | | | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | | | Crimes | Target | \% Diff | Crimes | Target | \% Diff | Crimes | Target | \% Diff | | TFMV | 552 | 486 | $13.60 \%$ | 409 | 486 | $15.80 \%$ | 376 | 486 | $-22.60 \%$ | | TOMV/UTMV | 302 | 496 | $39.10 \%$ | 245 | 496 | $50.60 \%$ | 269 | 496 | $45.60 \%$ | | Vehicle Crime | 854 | 857 | $-0.35 \%$ | 654 | 857 | $-23.69 \%$ | 645 | 857 | $-24.70 \%$ | - During the nine-month period performance drastically improved in all three KPI categories, and the BCU was performing better than target for each of categories for the last three month period. # Sanction Detections against target | Analysis of Sanction Detections against Target (May 06 compared to Jan 07) | | | | | | | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | | | May-06 | | | Jan-07 | | | | Sanc Det \% | Target \% | Diff | Sanc Det \% | Target \% Diff | | TFMV | $0.9 \%$ | $8.0 \%$ | $7.1 \%$ | $9.6 \%$ | $8.0 \%$ | | TOMV/UTMV | $6.7 \%$ | No Target | n/a | $13.1 \%$ | No Target n/a | | Vehicle Crime | $3.0 \%$ | $9.0 \%$ | $6.0 \%$ | $11.2 \%$ | $9.0 \%$ | - In May 2006 when the initial analysis of performance data in relation to Vehicle Crime Sanction Detection rates were examined, the BCU was under target by $7.1 \%$ for TFMV and $6 \%$ for Vehicle Crime, there is no target set for TOMV/ UTMV however the Sanction Detection Rate was 6.7\% - In January 2007 the BCU Sanction Detection rate had improved to better than target for TFMV $9.6 \%$ ( $1.6 \%$ above target) Vehicle Crime $11.2 \%$ ( $2.2 \%$ above target) and TOMV/ UTMV had improved from $6.7 \%$ to $13.1 \%$ (No Target set) | | May 06 to Jul 06 | | | Aug 06 to Oct 06 | | | Nov 06 to Jan 07 | | | | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | :--: | | | Sanc Det \% | Target \% | Diff | Sanc Det \% | Target \% | Diff | Sanc Det \% | Target \% | Diff | | TFMV | $4.9 \%$ | $8.0 \%$ | $-3.1 \%$ | $6.6 \%$ | $8.0 \%$ | $-1.4 \%$ | $7.8 \%$ | $8.0 \%$ | $-0.2 \%$ | | TOMV/UTMV | $3.0 \%$ | No Target | n/a | $3.2 \%$ | No Target | n/a | $4.3 \%$ | No Target | n/a | | Vehicle Crime | $8.3 \%$ | $9.0 \%$ | $-0.7 \%$ | $12.2 \%$ | $9.0 \%$ | $3.2 \%$ | $9.4 \%$ | $9.0 \%$ | $0.4 \%$ | - During the nine month period the table above displays the increase in Sanction Detections in the 3 KPI categories by examining data in three month blocks - The increase in Sanction Detection Rates in all the categories has ensured that the Target for Vehicle Crime ( $9.0 \%$ ) was achieved and exceeded, and the difference below target for TFMV was reduced to $0.2 \%$ below the target of $8 \%$. Also the rate increased for TOMV from $3 \%$ to $4.3 \%$. ## Reduction in thefts of Satellite Navigation Numbers of thefts recorded of Satellite Navigation Systems | | May 06 to July 06 | August 06 to Oct 06 | Nov 06 to Jan 07 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Numbers recorded | 33 | 23 | 22 | - When comparing the data for the first three months of the initiative compared to the final three months there has been a 30\% reduction in the number of Satellite Navigation systems stolen in Liverpool South. # POLICE Prof Rob. T GUERETTE Assistant Professor Florida International University 11200SW $8^{\text {th }}$ Street Miami Florida USA 33199 Our Ref. Your ref. $21^{\text {st }}$ may 2008 Dear Professor GUERETTE Re: Herman Goldstein Awards - Application 2008 With reference to the above I am delighted to support the submission of this multi agency innovative and very successful operation. The key objective of the Liverpool South Vehicle Crime Project was to reduce both the theft of and from motor vehicles in addition to improving sanctioned detection rates for both types of crime. The results are impressive and detailed in the attached application, this was a very innovative project that benefited the community as a whole. I fully support this project. Yours sincerely Stephen E Ashley Chief Superintendent