The Crime and Policing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April, and among its 70-plus measures is a provision that directly targets the electronics driving the modern car theft epidemic. It is now a criminal offence in England and Wales to make, possess, import, adapt, supply or offer to supply any electronic device that could be used to steal a vehicle or its contents. Conviction carries an unlimited fine, up to five years in prison, or both.
The devices in question are the small, often disguised gadgets that have made keyless car theft devastatingly efficient. Signal relay, repeater and amplifier devices pick up the radio signal from a key fob inside a home, boost it across the gap to the car outside, and trick the vehicle into believing the owner is standing right there with the key. The car unlocks. It starts. The thieves are gone in under a minute without breaking a window or touching a door. Signal jammers serve a parallel purpose, blocking fob signals to prevent the car from locking properly and masking the location of a vehicle tracker after the car has been driven away.
The Metropolitan Police have estimated that electronic devices are involved in more than 60 per cent of car thefts in London. Nationally, tens of thousands of keyless vehicles are taken this way every year.
Until now, the possession of these devices was technically legal. Police could only act once a theft had occurred and could prove the items had been used. Organised gangs exploited that gap with ease. The new law shifts the burden. Under the Act, police can seize devices where the carrier cannot demonstrate a legitimate purpose, without needing to tie them to a completed crime. For equipment with essentially no lawful civilian application, that is a meaningful change.
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The legislation also hands police a new power to enter premises without a warrant where stolen goods, including vehicles and phones, have been tracked by GPS. Previously, recovering a tracked stolen car required time to obtain a warrant. The new provisions require only that an officer has reasonable belief the goods are on the premises and that a senior officer has authorised entry.
Thatcham Research, which has spent more than three decades working alongside government, insurers and manufacturers on vehicle security, welcomed the Act but urged caution about treating it as a complete solution.
"The Crime and Policing Act 2026 fundamentally changes that equation. This Act creates a new possession offence, placing the burden on the individual to demonstrate a legitimate purpose, and allowing devices to be seized before any crime is committed. We welcome this change wholeheartedly."
Thatcham's chief research and operations officer Richard Billyeald added that the casual theft and joyriding of the 1980s and 1990s has all but disappeared, with manufacturers having made vehicles far harder for amateurs to steal. The problem now is a different animal entirely: heavily resourced, internationally connected organised criminal networks who combine specialist electronics with sophisticated logistics to move stolen vehicles and parts across borders.
The RAC noted that a quarter of UK drivers have suffered some form of vehicle crime, and supported the new powers. JLR, one of the most targeted manufacturers, has already invested £10 million in preventative technology and confirmed that relay attack resilience was built into its new generation Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, with security updates rolled out free to owners of 2018 onwards models.
The devices are often disguised as bluetooth speakers or children's toys to evade detection. The new law does not require prosecutors to prove the item was ever used. Being found in possession of one without a credible legitimate purpose is now enough.
The law is long overdue. Whether enforcement matches the legislation is another question entirely.
Sources
- UK Government — Crime and Policing Act 2026
- UK Government — Biggest shake up in decades to tackle local crime
- UK Parliament — Crime and Policing Bill receives Royal Assent
- Thatcham Research — Crime and Policing Act 2026 strengthens UK vehicle security
- Fleet World — New UK law combats vehicle theft
- What Car? — Keyless car theft devices banned in new law
- Regit — Why keyless car theft just got harder in the UK