When (if) the police attend a report of vehicle theft, secure the keys, take possession of them.
Keys on modern vehicles, for many makes, contain a wealth of information such as:
a. servicing needs
b. date/time last used
c. mileage
This stored data can shed light on the legitimacy of the reported theft.
For the cynical amongst us, the existence of this valuable date might be an incentive for a uniformed officer NOT to take possession of this property. This is because the time and expense taken to check the data might not fit with the ‘proportionality, priorities and performance indicators’ by which they are measured.
Yet taking the keys is a valuable weapon against the criminals and can be helpful:
- If the vehicle is found, you will want them to open the car.
- The reaction of the victim may be telling
- Look at them – at least check they have the same cut
- If the vehicle was not stolen but is holed up somewhere, the owner will have more of a job moving the vehicle; abandoning it to be found, after insurance payment
- You may need to know how the car was taken – was it really without keys?
- Evidence is secured, continuity is recorded
- You may need to examine them at a point in the future – see below
If taking the keys is not a practical option for the Police, organise a SPoC in each constabulary and the facility for those, such as insurers and Adjusters, to take possession and attend upon a dealer and have the keys ‘read’. For example, a SPoC circulates main dealers that keys may be brought to them for ‘interrogation’, a non-destructive examination. The dealer would not be required to provide a witness statement; this can be obtained later if irregularities were discovered.
For example, in one instance, we took keys to be examined only to find they were for a totally different vehicle that was already recorded as LoS’ on the PNC. There were several possibilities, for example
- The insured had obtained a clone – was a victim
- The insured acquired keys after the theft because their car had in fact been taken with the only one they possessed (which may not have been an insured event under the policy)
Ultimately, the claim was abandoned by the claimant after we asked detailed questions about the acquisition of the vehicle … ‘no-claimed’ but likely could have been ‘no-crimed’.
2025 update:
It is evident the police do not have the resources (or inclination) to seize keys
The SPoC suggestion (above) has merit – at the very leats a key examiner should undertake non-destructive tests/examination
It is also apparent that some officers do not understand the importance of vehicle keys, of the information they hold.