Enhancing recovery rates for stolen vehicles: A solvability factors method

Abstract

This study examines the police activities most associated with the recovery of stolen vehicles in Manchester, UK. The dataset consists of 6,104 reports of theft of motor vehicles whereby a random sample of 250 cases of stolen vehicles later recovered and 250 cases of stolen vehicles in which no recovery occurred were taken from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018. Twenty independent variables were selected using the findings from existing solvability literature, and additional variables were discovered from legacy data provided by the Greater Manchester Police recording systems. A case–control study was developed based on exploratory identification of police activities commonly used in cases of recovered vehicles. The findings indicate that motor vehicles were typically found by police during an investigation or through non-related proactive activities. Furthermore, vehicles were recovered by the victims themselves or by a member of the public reporting the vehicle to the police.