Report shows vehicle crime accounts for more than half of offences reported in Sheffield neighbourhoods

The offence category – comprised of theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle, aggravated vehicle taking, theft from a vehicle and interfering with a motor vehicle – accounts for the largest volume of neighbourhood crime offences recorded in Sheffield since January 2022.

It equates to 53 per cent of the overall neighbourhood crime offences during that period, according to a report prepared by Sheffield District Commander, Temporary Chief Superintendent Shelley Hemsley, in papers that went before the Public Accountability Board on Monday, January 9.

The report also states that Sheffield records 42 per cent of vehicle offences across South Yorkshire; and of those offences ‘41 per cent relate to theft from motor vehicle (TFMV) and 40 per cent relate to theft of motor vehicle (TOMV), with the remainder being accounted for by vehicle interference offences and aggravated vehicle taking’.

There has been a nationwide increase in the number of motor vehicles, and the report suggests this may be due to ‘the continual improvement of technology in use by offenders has seen an increase in keyless thefts of high value vehicles’.

“The value of these thefts is realised by the use of these vehicles to commit further crime by disguising the identity and onward,” it continued.

The top vehicle crime offence locations are Darnall and Sheffield city centre, according to the report.

The most recently available vehicle crime data on Police.uk – the national website for policing in England – for November 2022 shows the Sheffield locations that received the highest number of reports during that period were Stovin Gardens, Greenland and Sussex Street, Sheffield city centre, with four each.

The report also details the ‘common motivations’ for vehicle theft. It states: “The common motivations for the vehicle thefts are often the theft of registration plates (for use in further crime), car parts for second hand resale and catalytic converters for parts or scrap metal value.

“TFMV offences are often opportunistic with the modus operandi being to smash and grab or remove parts from vehicles such as internal property, vehicle sensors or catalytic converters. Without witnesses to the event, and due to nature of the theft, very little forensic material is recovered; and on the occasions it is recovered it is often difficult to prove when the material was deposited,” the report continued.

There has been a nationwide increase in the number of motor vehicles, and the report suggests this may be due to ‘the continual improvement of technology in use by offenders has seen an increase in keyless thefts of high value vehicles’.

The report from T/Chief Sup Hemsley said the force is looking ‘more intrusively at vehicle crime’.

She continued: “We are concerned about the volume of vehicle offences and therefore we are currently reviewing our processes and practices to determine whether we are missing prevention and detection opportunities.”

The Public Accountability Board is hosted by South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings, and SYP provides reports into monthly meetings of the board, covering Police and Crime Plan priorities.

*SYP were asked to elaborate on their strategy to tackle vehicle crime, and to provide crime prevention advice for Sheffield motorists, but declined to comment.