Community Safety Priorities for 2023-2026 in South Staffordshire Cross border crime, with a focus on vehicle crime. Cross border acquisitive crime (including vehicle thefts) is uncharacteristically high for South Staffordshire and has been consistently over time which has resulted in some elevated risk to local communities in terms of fear of crime and being targeted by criminals from out of the district area. Vehicle crime has seen a large increase in South Staffordshire with theft from vehicles increasing by 33% to 274 recorded crimes and theft from vehicles increasing by 12% to 167 recorded crimes. With many modern vehicles unable to be driven without their keys, criminals are increasingly using burglary to facilitate vehicle theft; entering properties purely to steal vehicle keys and key fobs - driving the stolen vehicle away from the scene. These offences are often referred to as ‘Car Key Burglaries’ (CKB). Keyless thefts, whereby the signal from the key to the car can be hacked into by a device used by criminals, are by far the highest reason for the increase in vehicle crime. ANPR in South Staffordshire and the West Midlands has assisted in the evidence gathering process and has identified the cross- border criminality of criminals targeting South Staffordshire communities in this way for higher value, high performance vehicles.
Although South Staffordshire has been targeted by cross border criminals, all recorded crime in South Staffordshire saw a decrease of 11% between 2020/21 and 2021/22.
The Community Safety Partnership will work together through The Tactical Priorities Group. This group is led by Staffordshire Police but has partner links to Prisons, West Midlands Policing area, Transport Police, Integrated Offender Management, South Staffordshire Council and the Community Safety Partnership. All crime types, anti-social behaviour, response times and campaigns are considered to tackle cross border crimes, local police and partnership priorities and identify positive messages for community reassurance and community cohesion. CCTV is used as a tool for evidence gathering with the data and intelligence being monitored as required by South Staffordshire Council and Staffordshire Police. ANPR is strategically place on the main arterial routes in and out of South Staffordshire where vehicles can be identified from the Police National Computer Database.
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