Land Rover theft alert, BBC

[13AY57]

Surrey Police said there had been 23 thefts in the county and surrounding areas since January, with older models being targeted.

Det Con Kerry Whindle said it was thought thieves were targeting older models which did not have immobilisers.

The Kent and Sussex forces have also said the vehicles were being targeted, either to use in crime or sell abroad.

Insp Sonia Lassnig, from Kent Police, said thieves could be taking the 4x4s to use in ram raids or to sell for parts.

Police are also concerned the vehicles were being stolen for export because of their popularity.

link to this news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22561651

[AR4412]

I did an automotive locksmith course as part of my resettlement ready for leaving the forces a month or so ago, and during the course I decided to have a pop at my Defenders locks. The first attempt saw me in the door in 19 seconds and the ignition barrel turned in under 2 minutes from that with no damage to the vehicle. Now I've practiced on the WOLF's at work I can usually defeat the igniton barrel in under 30 seconds with my record being 2 seconds. It's a handy skill to have due to the number of sets of keys the MT departents lose or miss-place.

Don't worry, I'm not aiming to steal all the Defenders out there when I leave the Army, it's just a handy skill to have and the money for locksmithing is good.

I also know how the thieving gits get around immobilisers but won't publish how as we don't want those who don't know knowing do we?

Regards,

[13AY57]

Thanks for that Neil, what in your mind would slow the thieving gits down or stop them ?

Regards
Phil

[AR4412]

Hi Phil,

There's a few ways to deter or frustrate the would be thief from getting their hands on your pride and joy.

Steering wheel locks are an obvious one, just make sure it sits tight to the boss so they can't just undo the column nut and remove the steering wheel with the lock still attached. Clutch Claws, pedal or gearlever locks etc also help. Visual deterents, if of a known hard to beat quality may be enough to put them off and make them move on to an easier target.

Fitting hidden switches that cut the feed to the ignition circuit or fuel pump/fuel pump solenoid on older Land Rovers, or on 90/110's these are a good idea, stops them putting a tube over the barrel and snapping the ignition switch off exposing the workings which can then be turned with a screwdriver.

http://www.x-eng.co.uk/StoreDisplay.asp?SL=123&MID=82

On modern Defenders, fitting a secondary battery earth lead inside the vehicle seatbox and shielding the positive cable from attack where it runs from the seatbox into the engine bay stops them from simply cutting the cables and waiting for the alarm/immobilizer back up battery to drain before gaining entry and removing the vehicle from it's rightful owner. The alarm/immobilizer itself is easy to defeat if you have the software, it is in their hands and only takes a minute or two minutes to work.

Regards,

[LarryH57]

Has there been any details given on where these Land Rovers have been stolen in Surrey; is it mainly from public car parks, peoples front drives or lock ups?

[13AY57]

some info on this link

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/21347 ... _for_parts

[Emmtee1973]

Hello all

Just my thoughts on this from experience with older petrol vehicles.

When it's gonna be stood for a while I tend to remove the lead between coil and dizzy.

Appreciate this is no good for diesels but gives a good first line defence on the gas guzzler.

Martin.