The Good News It’s not all bad news, though. Home office figures show the number of car thefts each year in the UK has been steadily falling since 1995, by an average rate of 8% per year. This is due partly to modern car alarm and immobiliser technology making it harder for criminals to drive cars away, and partly to improved police techniques in crime prevention.
		Also, from April 2003, thorough checks will be carried out on every car that is bought from a scrap yard and subsequently repaired and returned to the road.
	The checks, by the Government's Vehicle Inspectorate, will ascertain whether the repaired car's registration documents conform to the original details on the DVLA's national database. By denying car thieves access to usable registration numbers and vehicle registration documents, authorities hope to make the ‘ringing’ process far more difficult, if not impossible. The Transport minister David Jamieson said: "Vehicle ringing affects the person whose vehicle is stolen and the unsuspecting buyer. It is a widespread crime. Some criminals show remarkable ingenuity in trying to pass on stolen cars. The new vehicle identity check scheme will make a real difference."