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CONGESTION CHARGE BLAMED FOR NUMBER PLATE THEFTS
By Lawrence Marzouk
 THE congestion charge is being blamed for the theft of almost 9000 car registration plates last year, as motorists try to avoid the cost of driving into central London.
The congestion charge was introduced on February 17, 2003, a year in which only 19 number plate thefts were reported in London.
In 2004, the figure climbed to 5,492 and last year 8,763 thefts were recorded -461 times higher than two years previously.
Angie Bray, the Conservative London Assembly member who uncovered the figures, believed the timing of the increase is more than just a coincidence.
"We had a suspicion that number plate crime was increasing because of the congestion charge these figures clearly prove that," said the Tories' spokeswoman on the congestion charge.
"People are clearly seeing the value of stealing other people's number plates as a way of getting around the charge, and this is something Ken Livingstone must address."
The trend has not gone unnoticed by Barnet police who introduced a new scheme in September 2004 to deal with the problem.
Motorists who have been victims of this crime are now being asked to bring their cars to Colindale police station, in Aerodrome Road, for fingerprinting and forensic examination.
A police spokeswoman said: "Having identified this as a problem, we must now seek to redress it."
CAR LICENCE PLATES STOLEN IN RECENT MONTHS HAVE STUNNED DETECTIVES.
Police figures show that 6,00 have been stolen London-wide since last April, and 360 in the last month in the borough of Bexley alone.
As one example, Charles Yeboah, the teenager with the ‘key ring’ pistol given six and a half years last week, was picked up in July driving a Fiat Stilo believed to be stolen.
On closer inspection they found that not only was the car stolen, but the vehicle’s plates had been stolen from a similar Fiat Stilo.
Det Insp Kevin Baldwin from Bethnal Green station believed this was a deliberate attempt to fool the police: “A stolen car’s plates will be flagged up by cameras for our attention straight away,” said DI Baldwin, “With false plates, some assume they’ll get away with it.”
There was a surge in thefts of vehicle licence plates in 2004, in the run up to the introduction of the Congestion Charge.
But Transport for London say there is no evidence to suggest that stolen plates are routinely used to confuse the cameras.
Ed. -No surprises there then eh?
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