Anti-Theft Scheme To Stop Thieves

Press release Thursday 24 January, 2008

Anti-Theft Scheme To Stop Thieves In Their Tracks

Every seven minutes a car is stolen or damaged in New Zealand[1], accounting for 16 per cent of the country’s recorded crimes[2].

While 60-70 per cent of car thefts are opportunistic, professional vehicle car crime – stealing cars for profit - is thought to account for over 30 per cent of vehicle crime.

The Ministry of Justice’s Crime Prevention Unit, in conjunction with the Police and the Transport ministry, has developed the Vehicle Crime Reduction Programme (VCRP).

Designed to reduce opportunistic and professional vehicle crime, the initiative will introduce options for improving vehicle security, and includes a proposal for the compulsory fitting of immobilisers at importation on all vehicles that are 15 years of age or newer.

Andrew Sharp, General Manager of anti-theft and asset tracking company, BlackHawk Tracking Systems, says immobilisers deactivate a vehicle’s engine at multiple points, making it very difficult to start without a key.

“The positive impact of immobilisers is well recognised and we applaud the Crime Prevention Unit’s plans to combat an increasingly sophisticated crime by launching the Compulsory Vehicle Immobiliser Programme in New Zealand this year.

“We also encourage the Ministry and vehicle owners to be extra vigilant and consider taking their security to the next level by installing asset tracking for their vehicle, which if broken into and on the move, a notifying text message is sent to the vehicle owner’s mobile phone,”says Sharp.

One of the major issues with current alarms and immobilisers is that they are ineffective if the keys are stolen.

“In the UK, a compulsory immobilisation programme has been effective, but there has also been an increase in home invasions to steal car keys and car jacking as a result. Asset tracking may mean that the criminals behind these more horrific crimes can be caught and dealt with.”

With BlackHawk, owners can track the location of their moving vehicle by accessing the internet. They can choose to alert the Police to its location without notifying the thief, and they have the option to remotely disable and immobilize the vehicle at any time.

“Asset tracking using BlackHawk technology is proven to help prevent thieves from getting away with crime. The technology includes other security features such as a crash sensor and speed monitoring.”

Of the 70,000 plus vehicles that were broken into or stolen in 2005, just over 10 per cent of these thefts were solved, meaning there is only a one in nine chance of someone ever being charged[3].

“BlackHawk aims to reverse the statistics by granting vehicle owners the ability to pinpoint the exact location of their stolen vehicle and maximising their chances of recovering it,” says Sharp. -ends-

[1] August 2006 www.aa.co.nz/media 2 Ministry of Justice. Crime Reduction Strategy 3 August 2006 www.aa.co.nz/media

For photography or further information, contact Lisa Joe at Joe Public on 021 326 662. Email lisa@joepublic.co.nz or visit www.theblackhawk.co.nz

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[1] August 2006 www.aa.co.nz/media

[2] Ministry of Justice. Crime Reduction Strategy

[3] August 2006 www.aa.co.nz/media