Top cop attacks car-clone crime
An attack on "car-cloning" criminals has been launched by car-crime top cop Mark Hooper, who heads the Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service.
Det Chief Insp Hooper says he wants to see independent checks on buyers and sellers as well as on the car itself, in a bid to fix a process that is "flawed and vulnerable".
One option would be a similar system to that in France, where buyers and seller must go to a local registration authority to have their documents verified.
He cites well-organised criminals in the UK who obtain false number plates and papers for stolen cars before selling them on to unwary customers.
He told the BBC: "The criminals are very good at what they do. These guys make their living doing this, and they will always be testing, probing, trying to find weaknesses that we need to protect against."
He said the solution might be "anything from an identity check of documents that would deter all but the most confident of criminals, to a full mechanical check of the vehicle."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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