File : Vehicle crime - Interpol

COM/FS/2012-01/DCO-02
FACT SHEET
Vehicle crime
Vehicle crime is a highly
organized criminal activity,
affecting all regions of the
world. It is often linked
to organized crime and
terrorism: vehicles are stolen
not only for their own sake,
but are also trafficked to
finance other crimes, or
used as bomb carriers and
in the perpetration of other
offences.
ffStolen Motor Vehicle database
The INTERPOL General Secretariat manages the Automated Search Facility-Stolen Motor
Vehicle (ASF-SMV) database to support police in member countries in the fight against
international vehicle theft and trafficking.
At the end of December 2011, the database held more than 7.1 million records of
reported stolen motor vehicles. A total of 154 countries use the database regularly, of
whom 129 countries share their national stolen vehicle database records with INTERPOL.
In 2011, more than 42,000 motor vehicles were discovered worldwide through the ASF-
SMV database.
ffINTERPOL projects
INTERPOL has developed several projects and working groups to help police in its member
countries to fight vehicle crime.
■■Project INVEX works in cooperation with a number of car manufacturers to find new
ways of detecting stolen motor vehicles and to increase the quality of the data in the
ASF-SMV database. Initiated by INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Germany, the
project currently involves five countries and car manufacturers Volkswagen (including
Skoda and Seat), Audi (including Lamborghini) and Porsche, who regularly exchange
data. In the near future, INVEX will be expanded to additional manufacturers and
countries, reflecting the success of this ongoing project.
■■Project Formatrain has established a standardized training programme to facilitate
investigations of international cases of vehicle theft. It assists investigators with
information on vehicle and document identification, investigative strategies, techniques
and tools, databases and legal preconditions. By the end of 2011, a total of 16 regional
training courses had been delivered, benefiting some 480 officers from around 40
different countries worldwide. Moreover, two Formatrain workshops on identification of
Heavy Equipment were carried out in Lyon, France, in May 2011 with the participation
of 30 officers.
The course combines three days of classroom training with a two-day operation or
practical exercise, allowing participants to consolidate their new skills by applying
them in the field. Increasingly, we are assisting with follow up investigations after
the operation in order to maximize the impact of the activities. Courses are run on
a regional basis to encourage networking opportunities between countries and are
delivered by an international team of experts.
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CONNECTING POLICE FOR A SAFER WORLD

Vehicle crime
ffOperational support
INTERPOL regularly provides technical and human resources to its member countries to
assist with the preparation and implementation of SMV-related operations.
The Operational INTERPOL SMV Task Force consists of police officers and private
investigators – all experts in the field of vehicle crime – from a number of different
INTERPOL member countries and Europol. The idea behind this initiative is to:
■■Share operational skills and expertise between the different national experts;
■■Improve the speed of access to the different national databases and information
sources and thereby increase the accuracy of results;
■■Analyse the outcomes of operations;
■■Start investigations based on these operational outcomes and analysis.
Seven operations were supported by the task force between 2009 and 2011; in the
Balkans, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain. In total, around 10,000 motor vehicles were
checked, 106 stolen cars identified and seized and 45 offenders arrested. The majority of
the impounded cars came from countries in Western Europe.
ffInformation platform
An information platform for vehicle crime investigators is available to law enforcement
officers on INTERPOL’s restricted website. It includes identification guides, web links,
training information, an e-learning module, alerts, statistics, and project and operational
information.
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Contact information:
Contact us via our web site. For matters
relating to specific crime cases, please
contact your local police or the INTERPOL
National Central Bureau in your country.
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Twitter: @INTERPOL_HQ
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YouTube: INTERPOLHQ
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www.interpol.int