Parcel shelf crime spree plagues London as cases of thieves smashing rear windows soar
London residents have reported a surge in crime after thieves began targeting their vehicles in a bid to steal a rather unexpected item.
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For years, London's car owners have faced the threat of stolen radios, sat-navs and dashboard cameras, and even entire sound systems from cars.
Now, thieves are smashing the windows of parked vehicles in a bid to pilfer parcel shelves.
Police forces and community Facebook groups are being flooded with reports of thieves ripping out the shelves from behind the rear window of cars in recent months and weeks.
The removable fabric-covered panels in kept car boots are then being resold on platforms including eBay and Gumtree.
Criminals have turned to parcel shelves as they are light and simple to detach, experts say.
Read more: Hooded thieves caught on camera 'robbing' crashed Toyota Prius on motorway
Meanwhile, valuable gadgets targeted by thieves in the past - such as sat-navs - are increasingly built-in to vehicles, making them harder to steal.
The stolen shelves go for anywhere from £50 up to £150, but repair companies can charge hundreds of pounds to replace smashed windows and replacing the parcel shelf itself can cost hundreds as well.
The Metropolitan Police is urging vehicle owners to keep parcel shelves indoors at night, advising people to park cars in garages or well-lit areas covered by CCTV.
“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,” the Met wrote on its MetEngage page.
The bicycle-mounted thieves are said to be operating on a steal-to-order basis, breaking into specific models on requests.
Isabelle Izzard, 72, from Muswell Hill, a leafy suburb in north London, told The Telegraph her car has been targeted twice in the past two months.
She said her neighbours “saw one of those Lime bikes resting against our car and they thought ‘well, that’s a bit odd’”.
“So they looked across the street and there was a guy with a hoodie. He crossed over to our car and smashed in the rear window,” she added.
Other nearby areas such as Primrose Hill, Kentish Town and Highgate also seem to be hotspots for thieves.
A Primrose Hill resident told MyLondon in September their Mercedes was broken into.
“I got a notification to my phone saying that my car had been broken into. They smashed the windscreen and only took the parcel shelf. I subsequently found out that some of the neighbours had been through the same," the unnamed resident told the website.
They added: "I took my car into the garage to get it fixed on the same day, and the gentlemen said that he had four of my style of car with the same issue. “He said that people were selling parcel shelves on eBay, and they were going out on a steal-to-order basis.
They go and smash in the rear-view glass and steal the parcel shelves to sell them on."
The Highgate Society warned in a previous bulletin: “Five times in three weeks thieves have smashed the back windows of cars, mainly in daylight, and taken the parcel shelves
.“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.”