Why is it so easy to steal a car?

[Nivvers2001]

My car has been stolen from outside my house. Only realised this evening when I went to drive it to go shopping. Thought I gone crazy and walked up and down our street several times but yep, definitely not there. So annoying as I never had a nice car (never saw the point!) despite being able to afford one but in November last year finally spent 17k on a decent second hand family car which I loved but has now gone. I know there are bigger problems in the world but so annoying that someone can just come along and take what you have worked hard and saved for. Reported online to the police (no reply yet) and insurers. A neighbour had his car stolen last year and apparently they are driven down to Dover and onto a ship and that's it. The police don't even bother to investigate. Why is crime tolerated so much in this country?

Thanks to the Conservatives "austerity" introduced by that idiot Cameron and his stooge Osborne, the police in the UK have been scandalously underfunded for years.

There's no money to prevent or investigate crime. It's as simple as that.

You can't blame the Conservatives for everything. Noone forces someone to steal a car. I had no money growing up (and I mean no money, no phone, no TV, no nice clothes, no eating out) but I didn't still. I would say it's something to do with the fact that people feel they can do/take whatever they want because there are no repercussions.

Do if the conservatives hadn't been in power then the OPs car wouldn't have been stolen????

The insurance companies could easily force manufacturers to produce cars which were harder to steal but they don't.

You can't expect there to be a policeman on each street corner.

Who said the police don’t investigate?
There are few lines of enquiry with theft of a motor vehicle.
Cctv/ring doorbell
ANPR triggers
How did they get the keys/immobilise the vehicle?
tracker on vehicle?

after that down to insurance - you get paid out. that’s the purpose of insurance policies.

There are likely to be investigations into gangs operating in your area for conspiracy to steal. but the police won’t tell you this.

sorry to hear that you have been subjected to this crime

How can they steal it without the key, or did they break into your house for it.

They use equipment that scans for the key signal and transmit to their mate standing next to the car. The car unlocks. If you leave the key near the front door they scan it from outside. Or they are watching the car and scan the signal when you lock it or block you locking it, but you don't realise it. Use a steering wheel or pedal lock and put the key in a Faraday pouch when you're parked up.

If it’s a keyless entry car, then thieves can steal them by relay theft if the key is nearby in the house unprotected - no need to break in.

There has always been crime.

But the OP said The police don't even bother to investigate. Why is crime tolerated so much in this country? and a big part of the answer is that police funding was massively cut from 2010, so the police have to prioritise, which results in more crime happening and fewer crimes prosecuted.

But the reason there are 'no repercussions' is because if you cut police funding, crimes can't be investigated.

If you want the police to have the time to investigate more crimes, you need more officers, so you need more police funding to pay the wages.

Crime is tolerated because police resources have been stripped back to the point they can only now focus on major crime. They need a massive funding boost and double the number of police officers.

As others have said, keyless entry is bypassed by those in the trade. Car makers aren't bothered because they sell more cars and improved security affects profits. Car theft is a lucrative business

Ok, but I didn't cut police funding. I like everyone else have been paying record levels of tax for the last 30+ years and would expect some interest in preventing crime from the government and police. Nothing.

Because keyless entry has created a technical weakness that criminals can exploit. Some cars are more vulnerable than others such as Lexus.

If would never buy a car with keyless entry. If you have one you really should invest in a good steering lock!

It's not easy to steal a car at least not compared to how easy it was in the past. It is possible but you either need to steal the key or to use technology and know what you are doing.

There was a time when all you needed was a screwdriver. In the 1990s more than 500,000 cars were stolen each year. Thanks to technology making it harder it is now less than 100,000.

It's a technological arms race between the thieves and the manufacturers that has been going on for pretty much ever. As soon as a manufacturer comes out with a new security measure there are thieves busy trying to find ways of circumventing it. It's not helped by some manufacturers cheaping out on the security (looking at you Hyundai, Kia and JLR) but it's an ongoing problem.

A large part of the tech used by manufacturers is the problem rather than an attempt at the solution.

Before keyless entry thieves had to physically break into the car and hotwire it. If they can hack the tech they can open the door and drive off.

So why does anyone want a keyless car? I have never wanted one because it sounds like a great way to lose my keys, but it doesn't sound like that have any benefits?

Sure, physically breaking in to cars and hot-wiring them were such massive obstacles to car theft that no-one bothered with car alarms, crook-locks, pedal boxes or other security measures 🙄

Keyless entry first came out in the 90s. For a long time it improved security but eventually the thieves caught up. As I said, it's a technological arms-race and that's just what happens.

The good news is that you can stop relay attacks by simply keeping your keys in a faraday box when at home. They cost a tenner.

And you used to take your car radio into the pub with you because so many got stolen.

So many things are so much better than they were in the 80s/90s. Even the tax rate has come down from around a third of your salary to around a quarter. This narrative of 'modern life is terrible' is such a self fulfilling prophecy.

But all you needed to hotwire a car was a coat hanger and a screwdriver. It was incredibly easy to do. I know I once had to hotwire my own Fiesta when I lost the key.

Look at the statistics. When immobilisers were introduced car thefts decreased dramatically. The technology is helping to reduce crime but as with anything new the theives eventually work out a way to circumvent it.

Oh absolutely. I had a relative in the 80s who would remove the rotor from his Ford Cortina's distributor whenever he parked up because it was otherwise so easy to nick. And let's not forget the (in-)famous Vauxhall Nova that could be hot-wired by simply removing the hazard warning light switch, turning it upside down, and putting it back in.

Get a security measure. Ghost immobiliser or steering lock or multiple together. I think a ghost immobiliser basically means it can't be stolen.

Too much scum in this country who think it's okay to steal.

Most modern cars have SIM card or E-SIM to talk back to manufacturers or call emergency services etc. Why these cannot be used to track stolen vehicles I do not know. Unless as stated earlier it is all a money making thing.

There is a market for prestige models eg Range Rover and keyless entry allows the thief to take the car undamaged. It's seen as a benefit to not have a key. Car unlocks as you get near it and starts when press the button.

They can be used to track a vehicle, but only until the thieves disable them.