If anyone's interested...
‘Not all police cars have flashing blue lights’
In Hampshire and the Isle of Wight a fleet of cars featuring the latest video technology are being parked on streets and left unattended in a move to catch car thieves and cut down car crime.
The cars, which look like any other vehicle, are filled with valuable items, like laptops and satellite navigation systems and are parked in identified vehicle crime hotspots. When the car is broken into the police have video evidence to be used in court.
Vehicle crime has reduced year on year across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and the latest figures show that vehicle crime is down by 16.8 per cent from last year, with Southampton showing a significant reduction of 24 per cent.
The covert campaigns which began in the New Forest, Portsmouth and Southampton areas have been so successful that the vehicles are now deployed countywide and could be located anywhere in Hampshire. In Southampton more than 15 people have been prosecuted in direct relation to the trap car operation this year.
A high-impact billboard campaign started on November 5th runs for four weeks. Sites around Hampshire will display a 3.5 metre x 7 metre landscape poster with the slogan ‘Not all police cars have flashing blue lights’.
2,500 flyers warning of the police operation will be given to people who have been arrested in connection with vehicle crime or who are known to be prolific offenders The initiative aims to deter potential offenders by advertising the fact that police are monitoring private and public car parks as well as residential streets.