‘The DVLA receives a file daily, Monday to Friday from the Police National Computer’s Lost or Stolen (LoS)
Register of stolen or recovered vehicles. This file is processed via an overnight batch run.’ Source 29/01/2026 – FOIR13027
Therefore, DVLA data should reflect numbers that are lower than the reality. For example, a car reported stolen to the police on Saturday will be placed on the Police National Computer (PNC) LoS regsiter. BUT … if it is found on Sunday, the PNC LoS entry will be removed, and the record will not be within Monday’s batch run; the polcie will have recroded the crime but the DVLA will not know of this.
This is just one reason the DVLA stolen register data will understate actual stolen events. Read more here.
| Constabulary | 2024 thefts | 2024 recoveries | 2024 recovery % | 2025 thefts | 2025 recoveries | 2025 recovery % | theft difference | % theft change | recovery improvement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon & Somerset Police | 850 | 517 | 60.82% | 900 | 557 | 61.89% | 50 | 5.88% | 1.07% |
| Bedford Police | 777 | 277 | 35.65% | 511 | 187 | 36.59% | -266 | -34.23% | 0.94% |
| British Transport Police | 67 | 9 | 13.43% | 63 | 13 | 20.63% | -4 | -5.97% | 7.20% |
| Cambridgeshire Police | 495 | 226 | 45.66% | 467 | 246 | 52.68% | -28 | -5.66% | 7.02% |
| Cheshire Police | 377 | 173 | 45.89% | 345 | 181 | 52.46% | -32 | -8.49% | 6.58% |
| City of London Police | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Cleveland Police | 204 | 71 | 34.80% | 244 | 106 | 43.44% | 40 | 19.61% | 8.64% |
| Cumbria Police | 66 | 49 | 74.24% | 46 | 26 | 56.52% | -20 | -30.30% | -17.72% |
| Derbyshire Police | 570 | 215 | 37.72% | 453 | 184 | 40.62% | -117 | -20.53% | 2.90% |
| Devon & Cornwall Police | 724 | 295 | 40.75% | 672 | 378 | 56.25% | -52 | -7.18% | 15.50% |
| Dorset Police | 265 | 150 | 56.60% | 223 | 128 | 57.40% | -42 | -15.85% | 0.80% |
| Durham Police | 281 | 123 | 43.77% | 281 | 103 | 36.65% | 0 | 0.00% | -7.12% |
| Dyfed Powys Police | 51 | 26 | 50.98% | 62 | 23 | 37.10% | 11 | 21.57% | -13.88% |
| Essex Police | 2,872 | 893 | 31.09% | 2,318 | 765 | 33.00% | -554 | -19.29% | 1.91% |
| Gloucestershire Police | 210 | 90 | 42.86% | 172 | 90 | 52.33% | -38 | -18.10% | 9.47% |
| Greater Manchester Police | 2,895 | 1,521 | 52.54% | 2,576 | 1,386 | 53.80% | -319 | -11.02% | 1.27% |
| Gwent Police | 187 | 71 | 37.97% | 245 | 125 | 51.02% | 58 | 31.02% | 13.05% |
| Hampshire Police | 748 | 457 | 61.10% | 640 | 409 | 63.91% | -108 | -14.44% | 2.81% |
| Hertfordshire Police | 1,185 | 379 | 31.98% | 1,004 | 383 | 38.15% | -181 | -15.27% | 6.16% |
| Humberside Police | 470 | 298 | 63.40% | 425 | 265 | 62.35% | -45 | -9.57% | -1.05% |
| Kent Police | 1,446 | 435 | 30.08% | 1,164 | 377 | 32.39% | -282 | -19.50% | 2.31% |
| Lancashire Police | 946 | 620 | 65.54% | 788 | 461 | 58.50% | -158 | -16.70% | -7.04% |
| Leicestershire Police | 852 | 410 | 48.12% | 811 | 464 | 57.21% | -41 | -4.81% | 9.09% |
| Lincolnshire Police | 247 | 115 | 46.56% | 272 | 138 | 50.74% | 25 | 10.12% | 4.18% |
| Merseyside Police | 273 | 56 | 20.51% | 315 | 128 | 40.63% | 42 | 15.38% | 20.12% |
| Metropolitan Police Service | 18,150 | 7,383 | 40.68% | 15,677 | 6,572 | 41.92% | -2,473 | -13.63% | 1.24% |
| National Crime Agency | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| NAVCIS | 567 | 352 | 62.08% | 404 | 190 | 47.03% | -163 | -28.75% | -15.05% |
| Norfolk Police | 144 | 59 | 40.97% | 156 | 75 | 48.08% | 12 | 8.33% | 7.10% |
| North Wales Police | 58 | 23 | 39.66% | 52 | 21 | 40.38% | -6 | -10.34% | 0.73% |
| North Yorkshire Police | 238 | 135 | 56.72% | 204 | 120 | 58.82% | -34 | -14.29% | 2.10% |
| Northamptonshire Police | 394 | 158 | 40.10% | 300 | 153 | 51.00% | -94 | -23.86% | 10.90% |
| Northumbria Police | 546 | 247 | 45.24% | 421 | 153 | 36.34% | -125 | -22.89% | -8.90% |
| Not Known | 1,403 | 401 | 28.58% | 1,092 | 226 | 20.70% | -311 | -22.17% | -7.89% |
| Nottingham Police | 508 | 145 | 28.54% | 541 | 263 | 48.61% | 33 | 6.50% | 20.07% |
| PSNI | 226 | 115 | 50.88% | 188 | 104 | 55.32% | -38 | -16.81% | 4.43% |
| South Wales Police | 1,023 | 553 | 54.06% | 974 | 548 | 56.26% | -49 | -4.79% | 2.21% |
| South Yorkshire Police | 2,198 | 528 | 24.02% | 1,581 | 433 | 27.39% | -617 | -28.07% | 3.37% |
| Staffordshire Police | 1,160 | 517 | 44.57% | 970 | 475 | 48.97% | -190 | -16.38% | 4.40% |
| Suffolk Police | 164 | 63 | 38.41% | 186 | 88 | 47.31% | 22 | 13.41% | 8.90% |
| Surry Police | 655 | 243 | 37.10% | 595 | 250 | 42.02% | -60 | -9.16% | 4.92% |
| Sussex Police | 601 | 312 | 51.91% | 543 | 330 | 60.77% | -58 | -9.65% | 8.86% |
| Thames Valley Police | 1,555 | 733 | 47.14% | 1,385 | 714 | 51.55% | -170 | -10.93% | 4.41% |
| Warwickshire Police | 803 | 302 | 37.61% | 710 | 286 | 40.28% | -93 | -11.58% | 2.67% |
| West Mercia Police | 906 | 376 | 41.50% | 751 | 309 | 41.15% | -155 | -17.11% | -0.36% |
| West Midlands Police | 9,002 | 3,772 | 41.90% | 7,679 | 3,164 | 41.20% | -1,323 | -14.70% | -0.70% |
| West Yorkshire Police | 2,631 | 1,252 | 47.59% | 2,517 | 1,274 | 50.62% | -114 | -4.33% | 3.03% |
| Wiltshire Police | 226 | 107 | 47.35% | 161 | 90 | 55.90% | -65 | -28.76% | 8.56% |
| SCOTLAND | 1,639 | 1,023 | 62.42% | 1,543 | 896 | 58.07% | -96 | -5.86% | -4.35% |
