Appeal as officers continue vehicle theft crackdown

We are appealing for information after a car was stolen from the driveway of a home in Rugeley.

At about 6.45pm on Monday 28 November, an offender entered the address and found the keys to a dark grey Ford Mondeo. They got into the car and drove it away.

We searched the area and carried out door-to-door inquiries but did not locate the suspect.

Inquiries are ongoing to track down the offender. We would like to speak to anyone who may have any footage of the area at the time or those with any information that can help us with the investigation.

Contact us on Facebook, Twitter, or call 101, quoting incident 637 of 28 November.

If you’d like to report anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Detective Inspector Pete Cooke, from Staffordshire Police, said: “Local officers are working hard alongside colleagues in the force’s Roads Policing Unit, Central Motorway Policing Group and fellow officers at West Midlands Police to target those responsible for the thefts.

“We’ve experienced an increase in reports of vehicle thefts in the last 12 months compared to the previous 12 months. Analysis has not found any specific causes for this and have shown they are consistent with national upward trend experienced across the UK.

“We are committed to actioning the priorities of our communities and launched a dedicated operation aimed at tackling it back in June this year.

“Since then, we’ve recovered more than 20 vehicles and arrested over 20 suspects.”

In most cases, offenders appear to be targeting keyless vehicles and are using cloning devices to get into them. They usually target the following models:

•  Ford (Fiesta, Focus, Transit & Rangers)

•  Audi (A4, RS4, TT, A3, Q3 & Q7)

•  BMW (M40, 330 & X5)

•  Mercedes (C220 & Sprinters)

The public can protect their cars by ensuring they store their keys in a faraday pouch, which blocks the signal, and keep them away from windows and easily visible areas in their home.

Where possible, try and keep your car in view of CCTV and always make sure they are locked.

For more information on how to protect your vehicle from crime, visit: Preventing car and vehicle theft | Crime Prevention | Staffordshire Police

To read more on our work in tackling vehicle crime, visit: More than thirty-arrests made as officers target vehicle thefts | Staffordshire Police