Car crime in Birmingham: 20 areas with most vehicle break-ins and thefts, according to latest police data

Police forces across England and Wales recorded more than 30,000 car crimes in March, official data shows.

The figures, which include thefts, break-ins and vehicle tamperings, equate to about 1,000 crimes a day. Three police forces, Greater Manchester, Devon and Cornwall and Sussex, had not supplied data for that month so the true number is likely much higher.

West Midlands Police was found to have the highest vehicle crime rate in the country according to the latest data which records vehicles stolen in March. WMP recorded 3,312 incidents of vehicle crime - which means there were 113.6 incidents per 100,000 people across the force area, which includes Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry.

This was followed by London’s Metropolitan Police which recorded 99.7 incidents per 100,000 people, then South Yorkshire Police, at 87.1 incidents per 100,000 people.

Dyfed-Powys Police, which covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys in Wales, had the lowest vehicle crime rate in the country, recording 8.5 incidents per 100,000 people. Vehicle crimes with no recorded location were excluded.

Across England and Wales, police have so far closed nearly two-thirds of cases without identifying a suspect (63%). One-third (33%) of vehicle crimes from March were listed as still under investigation. Fewer than 1% of incidents have so far resulted in court action or a caution, although this is likely to rise as investigations progress.

The figures from data.police.uk also show the approximate location of each recorded vehicle crime. In Birmingham there were 1,368 vehicle crimes in March. We have compiled this list of the neighbourhoods in the city with the greatest number of reported vehicle crime incidents in March.

These neighbourhoods are known as middle-layer super output areas, which the Office for National Statistics (ONS) uses to divide England and Wales into more than 7,000 smaller areas of between 5,000 and 15,000 residents.

Here are the 22 Birmingham neighbourhoods with the highest number of vehicle crimes in March 2023: