Knowsley Ford owners urged to take vehicle security precautions

Local Policing officers in Knowsley are warning owners of keyless Ford vehicles to take extra precautions in securing their vehicles after analysts in-force identified a trend of the vehicles being stolen. 

 

Merseyside Police employs numerous skilled analysts to work through crime data, both real-time and historic, in order to spot patterns, identify spikes in crime types, and proactively predict future crime. 

 

Analysts work with local policing teams to ensure that resources are being deployed where they can have the biggest positive impact on the community. 

 

Today, after consultation with analysts, Knowsley Local Policing Teams have taken the step to urge Ford keyless car owners to take action.

 

Knowsley Local Policing Chief Inspector, Christopher Ruane, hopes owners of keyless Ford cars in Knowsley will take the message seriously: “Since 2015, on average, 45 percent of stolen vehicles in Knowsley were Fords, we think largely due to the sheer volumes on the road. In 2023, that rose to 60 percent.  

 

“What’s important to us is getting a clear message out to Ford owners about what they need to do to make sure it doesn’t happen to them.  

 

“My absolute number one piece advice is to get a steering wheel lock. Get one that covers the whole steering wheel. A determined criminal can find ways around the bar type locks. 

 

“Or, you can get a lock on the gear stick and handbrake.”

 

Merseyside Police have been advising people for some time to follow the ‘Clear. Lock. Check.’ method of securing their vehicles:

 

• Clear – remove valuables from vehicles, or at least from sight 

• Lock – lock your vehicle when you are away from it  

• Check – check the vehicle has been cleared, locked and that the keys are secure

 

However, recently, keyless car owners have been urged to purchase Faraday pouches to store all their sets of keys in, and the force has been distributing free ones in some areas. 

 

Chief Inspector Ruane acknowledged that Faraday pouches were an important security step, but was insistent: “If you’re a Ford owner in Knowsley, what you want is a whole cover steering wheel lock. What we have found is that some Faraday bags may still emit a small signal around the seams that criminals may capitalise on. As such, backing these up with a steering lock will hopefully provide piece of mind to car owners. We’ve been working relentlessly to target car thieves – and we’ll keep going. But everyone should be taking steps to secure their vehicle.”

 

Anyone with information about stolen vehicles is urged to contact Merseyside Police on 101 or @MerPolCC.