There are effectively 3 sources of vehicle taking (stolen allegation/reported) data:
- The constabulary receiving the allegation – utilising their crime recording software
- The Home Office, who have access to the PNC (police national computer) LoS (lost or stolen) database
- The DVLA, the authority receiving the LoS notifications from the PNC (‘2’ above)
Most vehicle theft statistics are based on DVLA data; it is a readily available, single point source of information for all constabularies – rather than approach each of our constabularies separately, the DVLA is a central repository of ‘stolen’ records. Yet, it appears this data is woefully lacking.