New research revealed that the cost of criminal damage to police vehicles has climbed to £2.2 million over the last three years.
Select Fleet Solutions, a branch of Select Car Leasing, collected the research through a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
Vandalism to police vehicles isn’t always documented apart from other types of damage and wear and tear. But where it is, the research found that costs have risen annually from £585,232 in 2021-22 to £743,466 in 2023/24 – an increase of 27%.
Repair bills fluctuate with the size of the fleet, but the research highlighted the West Yorkshire police force as one of the worst affected. With over 900 vehicles in service, the force reported no less than £716,981 worth of criminal damage between 2021 and 2024.
The West Mercia police force was not far behind, footing the bill for £433,000 worth of criminal damage between 2021 and 2024.
Managing director of Select Fleet Solutions, Graham Conway, said: It’s reasonable to expect police vehicles to suffer damage as a result of accidents and collisions. They are thrust into dangerous situations on a daily basis while keeping us all safe and it would be impossible for bumps and crashes not to occur. But what’s not acceptable are the enormous costs having to be shouldered by police forces as a result of vandalism and criminal damage to fleets.”
He continued: “For some forces, the costs associated with criminal damage to its vehicles is on the rise. And the figures reported here are just the tip of the iceberg. The overall picture is likely much, much worse. Not all forces record ‘criminal damage’ or ‘vandalism’ to its fleet vehicles separately from more general accident or collision damage.”
