Police in Devon and Cornwall only charged 40 car thieves in 2025 despite 1,310 vehicle thefts being reported across the two counties.
Now a Devon MP is calling for action and says the thieves are getting away ‘scot free’.
“The government is asleep at the wheel,” said Newton Abbot Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley. “What we need is a return to proper neighbourhood policing.”
Devon and Cornwall Police say that while investigations are ‘challenging’, officers are committed to investigating the crimes and pursuing offenders where possible.
Mr Wrigley and his fellow Lib Dem MPs around the country have been analysing car crime data. In almost half of the cases across Devon and Cornwall, no suspect was identified.
The MPs say that only by properly restoring community policing will officers have the time and resources to respond to reports of theft. More visible police would also deter would-be thieves from brazenly taking people’s vehicles in plain sight.
The party is calling for the creation of a specialist team based at the National Crime Agency to pool data from automatic number plate recognition cameras, insurance records and intelligence from police forces and border control to target organised car crime networks.
Mr Wrigley said: “Across my constituency and the wider Devon and Cornwall counties, people rely on their cars to get to work, take their kids to school and get themselves to the doctors and essential services. It is an absolute scandal that 1,310 victims of crime are having their vehicles snatched from them, while the criminals get away scot free.
“How on earth can we expect to deter would-be thieves from nicking people’s cars when so few criminals are actually being charged by Devon and Cornwall Police? The government is asleep at the wheel and people in this constituency are paying the price.
“We urgently need to restore community policing to tackle car theft. For too long forces have been left over-stretched and under-funded meaning they simply do not have the resources to respond.”
In a statement, Devon and Cornwall Police said it was committed to investigating vehicle crime and pursuing offenders wherever possible.
The statement went on: “Officers follow all reasonable lines of inquiry to identify suspects and gather evidence, but investigations can be challenging when there is limited forensic, digital, CCTV or witness evidence.
“When suspects are identified, the force seeks the most appropriate outcome based on the available evidence and legal requirements. However, charges can only be brought where the evidential threshold is met.”
Police say they recognise the impact vehicle crime has on victims and communities, and uses targeted patrols, partnership working and intelligence-led initiatives such as Operation Handle, which focuses on areas at higher risk of vehicle crime, providing crime prevention advice and encouraging residents to take simple steps to better protect their vehicles and belongings.
“While neighbourhood policing plays an important role, successful investigations depend on a combination of policing resources, intelligence, public information and the availability of evidence,” the statement continued. “In some cases, despite a thorough investigation, no suspect can be identified due to the evidential challenges often associated with vehicle crime.
“This does not mean the offence has not been fully investigated.”
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