:ewer But More 'rofitable Thefts
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THIEVES who take vehicles and their leads from the streets in the London area .re finding it possible to be more selective. 'his appears from the fact that the value of ;oods stolen in this way increased from :188,300 in the second quarter of 1965 to :223,700 in the second quarter of 1966, rhereas the number of thefts fell slightly rum 1,200 to 1,112.
Statistics from which this information is aken were issued on Monday by the RHA rehicle security committee. Mr. J. T. Brown, :hairman of the committee, said: "It is evident in a number of cases that the hieves have advance information about what vehicle contains. Collusion can certainly Lot be ruled out. More operators than at preent should exercise care in the choice of taff. New employees should be asked as a uatter of course to complete the form recomnendecl by the committee, which requires among other things details of the last six employers and a photograph."
The figures now cover the first half of 1966, during which there were 2,302 thefts compared with 2,450 in the same period of the previous year. The value of the goods stolen increased from £348,800 in the first six months of 1965 to £450,000 in the first six months of 1966, but there was also an increase from £28,000 to £47,000 in the value of goods recovered.
These statistics do not include hijackings (where the driver is kidnapped when the load is stolen) and thefts from private premises. In the three months from April to June, 1966, there were eight reported cases of hijacking. The value of the goods stolen was £87,711, but of this amount £66,790 was recovered.
The accompanying table gives details of thefts for the past four years.