Car dash cams catching criminals while you sleep

With incidents of theft around the home on the rise in the UK, tech designed to keep us safe on the roads is now being used in the fight against crime at home. 

Motor safety experts at Road Angel​​ have revealed the unexpected advantage of dash cams which is helping to catch criminals in the act and protect homes.

There were an eye-watering 2.6 million incidents of theft, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, for the year ending December 2022.  

This was a 19% increase compared to the year ending December 2021, with 1.4 million offences.

With theft rates already through the roof, the Met has warned the public that burglars are opportunistic and will take advantage of people away on their holidays this Summer. 

A little-known feature on dash cams, called parking mode, which uses motion sensors to record movement around a vehicle even when it is off, is now being used to capture thieves in action.  

More and more people are now using the devices as an extra home security feature and are seeing it as an effective theft deterrent. 

With around one in six road users thought to have a dashcam installed, a growing number of people can use their devices to collect footage of law-breakers from the comfort of their homes. 

This dashcam footage can be submitted as evidence to support police investigations and court cases, and helps officers cut the time they would usually take sourcing evidence. 

In the past three years, 55,000 dashcam videos showing dangerous driving were sent to police forces up and down the country. 

Now dashcam owners with the “parking mode” feature are being urged to review their footage for suspicious activity. 

It is hoped that dashcams will help get more thieves prosecuted, making criminals think twice before snooping around people’s homes. 

Gary Digva, founder of Road Angel​​ , said: “From home burglaries to car vandalism, many incidents can happen while vehicles and homes are left unattended. 

“With the holiday season approaching, people will be leaving their cars and homes unattended, making them more likely to be targeted by criminals. 

“Many people have watched back their dashcam footage to see uninvited guests creeping around their cars and front doors.

“Not only can dashcams act as a deterrent to criminals looking for their next target, but with improved camera technology, they can now pick out extra facial detail to make prosecution of thieves more effective. 

“With technology developing rapidly, the most advanced dashcams on the market can now monitor vehicles while stationary through sensors that start recording if they detect a disturbance automatically, and 24 hours a day. 

“Vehicles fitted with “parking mode” dashcams now provide effective security measures which can watch over properties when no one is in.”

For more information about using the latest dashcam technology, please visit: https://www.roadangelgroup.com/