19
May
2014
By Calvin at 10:52 GMT, 12 years ago
Get Reading online news are featuring a report concerning a 30% increase in vehicle number plate thefts in Reading since the beginning of the year. Thieves steal registration plates for any number of reasons, but more often when they’re using the vehicle in the course of a burglary or when they want to steal fuel from a service station where their vehicle will be recorded on CCTV.
One way of preventing the problem is to have the plate’s factory fittings replaced with non-return screws and local Police Community Support Officer, Vicky Lendrum of Thames Valley Police has teamed up with Finchampstead MOT and Service Centre on the Hogwood Lane Industrial Estate to do just that.
If you contact the garage on (0118) 973 3465 or 6020 to make an appointment they will fit the screws for you for just £2 – the cost of the screws!
TCPW Comment: Number plate theft has been a problem for a very long time, with around a thousand plates going missing each week!
Whilst I would support this Thames Valley Police initiative I would also bring your attention to a product called ‘Secureplate’. This is a replacement plate that takes at least 3 minutes to remove from the vehicle and is rendered unusable in the process, because it’s been deliberately designed to break up. – neat! Their plate was tested by the Master Locksmith Association’s test house, Sold Secure, to make sure it came up to the DVLA’s standards for anti-theft plates.
More information: http://www.secureplate.com/index.html
Story source Getreading: http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/30-per-cent-increase-number-7137723
