Thieves want to grab your car parcel shelf
Stolen shelves can be quickly sold on for at least £75
Thursday, 11th September — By Richard Osley
Victims wonder if police have the resources to investigate a lost parcel shelf
FIRST thieves came for your car stereos, so manufacturers bolted them into the vehicle.
Then bandits went on the hunt for blue disabled badges and the metal in the catalytic converters.
Now the bounty is even simpler: your car parcel shelf. Residents in Primrose Hill, Kentish Town and Highgate are among those who have woken up in recent months to rear windscreens shattered and the shelves gone.
“What can you really do when you wake up to that? You can call the police but they are not going to send a squad of officers down,” said one victim who lives in Patshull Road.
“So it’s a call to them to get it at least registered, a call to the car glass company and then trying to find a new one. Somebody else who it happened to up the road said the easiest place to get a replacement is online or on eBay, but they thought that’s where the stolen shelves might all be going anyway.”
Replacement parcel shelves can be sold for between £75 to £150, with bigger prices matched to more expensive cars. The act of stealing them can take little more than 20 seconds as they can be carried away by somebody on a bike or scooter.
The Highgate Society warned members of the latest spate of thefts in the North Hill area running up to the village in its recent bulletin.
“Five times in three weeks thieves have smashed the back windows of cars, mainly in daylight, and taken the parcel shelves,” it said.
“It is sensible to park in sight of a camera if available, and one possible way to beat the current spate could be to keep parcel shelves indoors for a few weeks and of course not to leave anything valuable in your car.”
The victim that the New Journal spoke to said drivers were probably resigned to the idea that police would never catch the thieves and would be unlikely to spend Met resources trying to retrieve a £75 parcel shelf – a feeling which could also be shared by those smashing through the windscreens. In response to the crime trend, police have set up a website with advice on how to protect cars, their parcel shelves and any other items inside.
Officers writing on the MetEngage page said they were “analysing” the data to map hotspot areas and they would get “high-visibility patrols”.
They added: “Having personal items stolen from your vehicle is an upsetting experience and we are determined to find and arrest those who break the law. Park your vehicle in a private garage if you can. If you do not have access to one, try to park in a well-lit open space. “Try to use public car parks that are part of the police approved Park Mark safer parking scheme.”
