Steve McCabe, MP for Birmingham Selly Oak has described charges to retrieve stolen goods as ‘outrageous’
After being contacted by a number of constituents who have recently been burgled, Steve discovered that victims of crime are being charged hundreds of pounds to recover their stolen cars once found and seized by the police. Depending on the size of the car stolen people can expect to be charged up to £350 per vehicle meaning that when a number of vehicles are stolen the costs mount up.
In October 2017 Steve held a debate on the issue of rising crime in Parliament after his office was inundated with complaints about burglaries, muggings, car jackings and aggressive anti-social behaviour. Steve has said that in the face of rising crime, victims of crime shouldn’t be expected to pay punitive penalty charges and he intends to raise this issue with the Government in Parliament.
Steve said:
“I think it’s absolutely outrageous that victims of crime are being unfairly penalised for having their own goods stolen. The charges people are expected to pay in order to retrieve their stolen vehicles seem highly punitive and I’m very surprised that the Proceeds of Crime Act isn’t being used to assist victims of crime, instead they’re being punished during an already stressful and upsetting time.
“At a time when crime is rising and police budgets are being slashed these penalty charges provide no comfort to hardworking people in cash strapped households. I’ve said before that the Government has lost the plot when it comes to tackling crime but charging victims of crime seems totally absurd to me. Clearly something needs to change and I’ll be pressing the Government on this issue.”
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