Does anyone know the true extent of the UK’s STOLEN vehicle problem?
- LoS – Lost or Stolen
- PNC – Police National Computer
- VRM – Vehicle Registration Mark
Summary:
- Until the police ‘CONFIRM’ a LoS report on the PNC, the LoS status of the VRM does NOT pass to the DVLA
- If, after 6 weeks, the police have not CONFIRMED a LoS report, the LoS marker is ‘WEEDED’ off the PNC.
Therefore:
- At any one time, the DVLA data (used by many to cite vehicle taking numbers) will be lacking LoS records.
- After 6 weeks, if not CONFIRMED, the VRM will appear clear on the PNC and at DVLA. The chances of recovering the vehicle are reduced, if not nil.
An inquiry of Gwent police LoS records identified a substantial discrepancy between constabulary LoS numbers (1,040) and DVLA LoS notifications (375). Is WEEDING the cause? The issue is consered in more detail below:
Vehicle theft statistics are often requested from the DVLA; why approach 43 constabularies (plus other parties submitting Lost or Stolen (LoS) reports to the Police National Computer (PNC), hoping each will respond promptly, in a similar format and provide comparable data, when a single point of contact, the DVLA, is available, helpful?
An answer is ‘the DVLA’s records are incomplete‘.
In response to FoI request 2025/28985 of Gwent police and FoI request (FoIR12030) made to the DVLA for 2024 ‘stolen’ vehicle* figures, the responses were as follows:
| Source | Stolen Vehicles | Ssolen Vehicles per Month |
|---|---|---|
| Gwent police | 1,040 | 87 |
| The DVLA | 375 | 31 |
It appears the DVLA received 665 fewer ‘stolen’ notifications from Gwent police than were recorded by the constabulary in 2024 – apparently, 665 Gwent police stolen notifications were not conveyed to the DVLA
- The DVLA data, used by many to convey the incidence of vehicle theft is, insofar as Gwent police is concerned, just over 1/3rd of the crimes the constabulary recorded.
Concerning 2025, in response to FoI request 2025/28985 of Gwent police and another FoI request made to the DVLA for ‘stolen’ vehicle figures, the responses were as follows:
| Source | Stolen Vehicles | Stolen Vehicle per Month |
|---|---|---|
| Gwent police | 727 in 1st 9** months | 81 |
| The DVLA | 263 in 1st 8** months | 33 |
*’vehicle’ data, not just cars, which for 2023 & 2024, can be found here.
**The difference in time period results from FoI 2025/28985 not being made by the author of this page, and was located when researching vehicle ‘theft’ statistics.
727 theft allegations in 9 months equate to about 646 reports in the 1st 8 months – it appears the DVLA received about 383 (646 – 263) fewer ‘stolen’ notifications from Gwent police than were recorded by the constabulary in the first 8 months of 2025.
- Why is there such a substantial difference?
- Why does the DVLA appear unaware of 100’s of vehicles reported stolen to Gwent police?
- What does this say about the true size of the vehicle theft problem?
A possible explanation is prompt recovery:
However, this account is implausible for such a substantial amount of missing data:
The transfer of PNC LOS records is not ‘live’, i.e., it is not in real-time. Instead, the stolen data transfers are made at a given time(s) during a day. If, for example, the transfer occurs at 8 am each day, the following continuity would not see a LoS notification to the police pass to the DVLA:
- 6 am, a vehicle is reported stolen and added to the PNC LoS register
- 7 am, this vehicle is located by the police and removed from the PNC LoS register
- 8 am, the LoS records transfer to the DVLA but will not include the above vehicle as, whilst it has been the subject of a theft allegation, it was added to and removed from the PNC LoS register before the upload.
If this were to explain the substantial anomaly, the constabulary would have an exceptional and astoundingly prompt recovery rate!
Another explanation is that Gwent Police is failing to CONFIRM LoS reports, and WEEDING occurs. If so, the implications are serious.
‘CONFIRMATION’ the LoS recording process – what should occur:
- Day 01 – The report of vehicle theft is made to and recorded by the police. The VRM of the vehicle is added to the PNC LoS register.
- Day 03 – on or before this date, the police should CONFIRM (validate) the allegation against the PNC entry as per section 9.4 of the PNC user’s manual & reinforced by a 07/11/2024 NPCC circular
- Day 04 – on or before this date, as a result of ‘CONFIRMATION‘, the LoS record against the VRM transfers to the DVLA
CONFIRMATION causes the DVLA to be notified of the VRM’s LoS status. The LoS marker will remain on the PNC for 6 years (after which it is WEEDED off) or until the vehicle is found, whichever occurs first.
Until the LoS report is CONFIRMED on PNC, the DVLA will NOT be notified of the VRMs LoS status.
Stolen Vehicles NOT CONFIRMED
‘WEEDING‘ is an archaic process we have long argued should cease. ‘WEEDING’ causes a LoS marker against a VRM to fall away after 42 days (6 weeks) if the allegation is not ‘CONFIRMED‘.
WEEDING occurs when:
- Day 01 – The report of vehicle theft is made to & recorded by the police. The VRM of the vehicle is added to the PNC LoS register.
- But the report is not CONFIRMED as it should be. Section 9.4 of the PNC User’s manual is clear:
It is important that a LOS report is confirmed within 48 hours of the time of report of theft, because until the report is confirmed the DVLA at Swansea are not notified of the theft
The LoS marker on PNC only transfers to the DVLA once the entry is CONFIRMED by the police.
Therefore, from the date of theft notification to the date the crime is CONFIRMED, the DVLA will be unaware of the vehicle’s stolen status. Any enquiry of the DVLA about the VRM will be handled as ‘business as usual’; no one will be alerted to the activity at the DVLA.
If the report is not CONFIRMED:
- Day 14 – the constabulary is sent a reminder – this notification appears to be akin to the spreadsheet Gwent police eventually disclosed.
- The need to send a reminder suggests this ‘oversight’ is known to occur i.e. for 2 weeks the DVLA will have been oblivious to the stolen status of the VRM.
- Day 42 – at 6 weeks, if the LoS report has still not been confirmed, the constabulary is sent another reminder
- Day 43 – the LoS marker is ‘weeded’ from the PNC; the vehicle is NOT recorded LoS on the PNC and the stolen status will be unknown to the DVLA and vehicle provenance companies that provide pre-purchase checks to the motor trade and public.
As of Day 43, anyone checking on the PNC, with the DVLA, with any vehicle provenance company (a fee-paying search to determine if a VRM is recorded LoS, on finance, a total loss etc.) will not be advised of the stolen status.
If, at or shortly after, Day 43, the vehicle is CONFIRMED on PNC, there will still have been 42 weeks during which there may have been activity at the DVLA; an enquiry of the vehicle or possibly a V5C issued to some unsuspecting new keeper.
Is it possible Gwent police are not confirming LoS reports, that this has resulted in up to 853 stolen records in 2024 not being received by the DVLA. In suport of this being a valid concern:
- 05/2024 we raised the issue with Gwent police – a VRM had been weeded off the PNC LoS regsister. As a result of our notification, the VRM LoS report was ‘confirmed’ and returned to the LoS register by Gwent police.
A more detailed Gwent police timeline, from 05/2024 to the present, can be found here.