Five-year prison sentences for possession of keyless car theft signal jammers under new law

Criminals caught with gadgets – including signal jammers – used to steal keyless cars could face up to five years in prison under a new law.

The Crime and Policing Bill, to be introduced to parliament on Tuesday, will ban the possession, sale and distribution of the electronic devices.

They can block remote locks, allowing thieves to get in a vehicle without a key.

The gadgets are often used by organised crime gangs to target luxury vehicles.

Last year, four men were jailed for stealing more than 50 cars worth nearly £4m across the southeast of England after they were filmed using a “master device” to unlock a Bentley before ramming it through a gated driveway in a bid to escape.

Currently, people can only be prosecuted if there is proof that they have used such gadgets to commit a crime.

But the new law will put the burden of proof on the owner to demonstrate they were using the device for a legitimate purpose.

There were 732,000 incidents of vehicle-related theft in the year ending September 2024, the Home Office said.

According to the 2022/23 Crime Survey for England and Wales, an offender manipulated a signal from a remote locking device in 40% of thefts of vehicles.

The Metropolitan Police estimates that, in London, signal jammers are used in around 60% of vehicle thefts.

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Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “These thefts have a devastating effect on victims, who need their vehicles to go about their everyday lives.

“We are aware of the real concerns people feel with the use of these electronic devices being so prolific.”

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, welcomed the move.

“These devices have no legitimate purpose, apart from assisting in criminal activity, and reducing their availability will support policing and industry in preventing vehicle theft which is damaging to both individuals and businesses,” she said.