ISLANDERS who leave their cars unlocked with the keys inside may return to find them taken – not necessarily by a thief but by a police officer removing them to pre-empt a possible crime.
The driver will then have to make a trip to Police Headquarters to get their keys back.
The police have launched a new initiative – Operation Handle – to stamp out a doubling of ‘joyriding’ cases this year compared to the first two month of last year.
Among a number of other actions planned, officers will be on patrol in hot-spot areas and checking cars to see whether they are unlocked.
If the car is open and/or valuables can be easily seen, the car owner will be called, and keys may be kept at the police station to stop any actual crime happening.
“These crimes are completely preventable, and these young people aren’t going out with specific tools to do the job; they are simply opportunist.”
Chief inspector craig jackson
Up to this point in 2025, ten cars had been reported stolen but this has doubled to 20 so far this year. Last year, 53 vehicles were taken in Jersey – effectively equating to one stolen car a week.
Cars are primarily being taken by young people often already known the police. This week, a youth was remanded in custody after admitting three motoring offences in relation to joyriding, or ‘taking and driving away’ in official speak.
Leading Operation Handle is Chief Inspector Craig Jackson.
He said: “Vehicle crime includes theft from cars but what we are seeing is an escalation of young people’s behaviour towards stealing cars. All of these vehicles could have been prevented being stolen because they’ve either been left insecure, with keys in that vehicle for that vehicle or another one close by.
“These crimes are completely preventable, and these young people aren’t going out with specific tools to do the job; they are simply opportunist.
“The young people don’t have a driving licence, they are disqualified because of their age, and it is probably pure luck that they have not yet injured themselves or someone else. The stolen cars often have other people in it, too.”
Chief Insp Jackson said that Operation Handle not only includes a heightened focus on investigations and prosecutions but also a strong emphasis on education and prevention.
He said: “We are doing overt patrols in identified high priority areas, which are in St Helier, including putting plain clothes officers in there. We will deploy covert tactics as and when required, but we need the buy in from the public.
“We will be looking for insecure vehicles and calling the registered keeper to secure their vehicle by taking their keys and property from the vehicle so that it’s not a target.
“We’re also going to start removing keys and bringing them to the police station to deter the crime actually happening. It also allows us to have a word with the registered keeper to highlight the risk, because ultimately their vehicle could be responsible for killing somebody.”
“That might be an inconvenience for the keeper but it is far less inconvenient than having their car stolen.”
Giving this initiative ‘operation’ status not only highlights the issue but also allows the police to target more resources and work with partners, such as the Youth Service, to identify offenders and try to dissuade them from breaking the law.
Chief Insp Jackson said: “We don’t want our young people going to prison. We want them to make good life choices, but we’re not afraid to prosecute if they do the wrong thing.”
He added that he did not think the rise in ‘joyriding’ was necessarily a trend driven by outside influences such as social media. Rather, he said, it was down to ‘peer on peer learning’ from friends.
“It has escalated from tampering, which is trying car door handles, to stealing from cars to the serious offence of taking the vehicle itself. But we know these young people can’t control the vehicles, and it is only a matter of time before somebody is seriously injured or killed.”
“However, all the cars taken last year were insecure to begin with. The biggest risk for us in an island is complacency.”
