Good morning,

We are receiving increased reports of vehicle crime in the North of Portsmouth. These reports include both theft of motor vehicles and also theft from motor vehicles. If anyone has any information or CCTV footage that may assist me in the investigation of these incidents, please send a response to this message. You can also provide this information via our website or give us a call on 101.

Please could I ask you to check your vehicles when you leave them / go to bed to ensure they are locked, and remove any valuable items from them also ( this could include documents etc that have value / information someone might be able to use).  I appreciate how hard it can be to remove all your valuables such as tools from a van, ‘gold standard’ would be to remove all valuables from a vehicle prior to leaving it, but whether you choose that method or another, here are some more crime prevention ideas for vehicles:

1- ensure your property is marked, as it increases the chances of items being returned to you if they are later recovered; The National Property Register, for Phones, Gadgets, Bicycles & More... (immobilise.com)

2- Can you add further locks to your vehicle.  The area targeted appears to be above the locking mechanism, there are additional locks that can be fitted which are hidden and therefore harder to by pass.

3- Can you park your vehicle such that it makes it harder to access- reversing so the back doors are tight to a fixed object, and the same approach with the sliding doors.  If it's hard and awkward to access, that could deter someone.

4- You can purchase audible alarms, should someone gain access, the alarm may deter them from staying, and could alert someone to call us on 999 at the time!

If you would like to learn more about the above and how you can protect against this type of crime, please review the crime prevention advice on our website at Prevent theft from a vehicle | Crime Prevention | Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.

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Many thanks,

PC 28526 Lamper