The UK’s leading automotive risk intelligence organisation, Thatcham Research, welcomes the government’s new Crime and Policing Bill targeting electronic devices used in vehicle theft, while emphasising the need for a comprehensive approach to combat increasingly sophisticated criminal operations.

The legislation, which will make possession of signal jammers and relay devices an arrestable offense, represents a crucial development in addressing the rising tide of technologically-enabled vehicle crime. Thatcham Research’s specialist security team has worked with the Home Office to shape vehicle theft legislation, ensuring it effectively targets criminal tools while protecting legitimate automotive industry devices. 

Richard Billyeald, Chief Research and Operations Officer at Thatcham Research, who collaborated with the Home Office on the Bill, said: “This legislation addresses a critical vulnerability in the current vehicle security framework. By criminalising the possession and sale of these devices, we’re raising the stakes for criminals while protecting the legitimate automotive sector. However, vehicle security requires a multi-faceted approach of which device regulation is a part.”