Trial in ‘Wild West’ shows a big drop in motor vehicle thefts

New Delhi: Detecting motor vehicle (MV) theft in the city has long been seen as a challenge by many in the police force. However, West Delhi district has shown the way with an initiative that has resulted in a significant decline in MV theft, according to cops.
Police attributed the decrease in numbers to a range of factors, such as partnership with citizens and using data analytics to methodically crack down on auto-lifters.
DCP (West) Vichitra Veer said seven beats in areas like Hari Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Punjabi Bagh and Tilak Nagar were selected for implementation of the experiment.
“The exercise involved extensive on-ground and door-to-door campaigning, wherein cops visited several neighbourhoods and spoke to over 5,500 citizens. The basic idea was to associate the public, praharis (security guards) and police to put area-centric security and patrolling mechanisms in place,” he added.
The cops first analysed trends, such as timing and hotspots of vehicle thefts. On the basis of the data, police initiated preventive patrolling with the help of the public and praharies. As part of the experiment, the community policing team also sensitised the public about precautionary and preventive steps to be taken to curb MV theft.
“During foot patrolling, announcements were made and residents were advised to park their vehicles inside if a parking lot was available. They were also asked to use security gadgets,” said additional DCP Raja Banthia, who launched the pilot project in Nov last year.
Cops also surveyed exit/entry points and colony gates in the areas and accordingly decided the routes and timings of bike patrols. Cases and PCR calls were analysed daily.
Through public meetings, people were educated about making small changes, like checking the lock of the vehicle before leaving and using tyre locks and ignition locks.
The efforts seem to have paid off, as figures for the first six months of 2024 saw a downward trend compared to last year. While 2,217 cases were reported between Jan and June in 2023, this year, the number dropped to 1,846 in the corresponding period, a decline of 17%, the DCP said.