New checks to foil 'car ringing' rackets

A national scheme to keep track of scrapyard vehicles is to be introduced to tackle multimillion-pound "car ringing" rackets.

A national scheme to keep track of scrapyard vehicles is to be introduced to tackle multimillion-pound "car ringing" rackets.

Ministers estimate that every year 30,000 stolen cars are given the identities of written-off vehicles before being sold on by dealers.

From April 2003 compulsory checks will be made on any car bought from a scrapyard 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 with the original details on the DVLA's national database.

The Government has promised to cut vehicle crime by 30 per centbetween 1998 and 2004. It accounts for a fifth of all recorded offences and costs at least £3bn a year.

The Transport minister David Jamieson said the crackdown on "car ringing" would form part of a package of anti-car crime measures planned for the next 18 months.

He 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."

Assistant Chief Constable George Pothecary, of Dorset police, said: "The 'ringers' need registration documents to profit from their crimes ... the checks will deny these to them."

The Government is running a three-month consultation period and wants to introduce the scheme in April 2003.