Police who take items from unlocked cars 'may be breaking the law'

A police scheme under which officers are authorised to remove valuable items from unlocked cars could mean that they are breaking the law, a top criminal lawyer warned yesterday.

The shock tactics have been employed to encourage motorists to lock their vehicles. Officers have been told they can remove valuable items such as handbags, computers and satnavs, leaving a note telling the owner that they can pick the item up from a local police station.

The scheme has been introduced in the affluent area of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London, which suffers from a high number of thefts from cars, but solicitor Louise Christian said police could be breaking the law.

"The way for the police to encourage the law to be kept, is not to engage in something that verges on lawbreaking," she said. "If this was done by a private person they would undoubtedly be prosecuted for theft."

Christian said the law governing theft means that apart from taking someone else's goods, a person must intend to permanently deprive them of it to be found guilty of theft.

She said people could sue the police for trespass, but the amount of damages an individual might be entitled to would be unlikely to make it worthwhile. Police have defended the scheme, saying it helps drive the message home to motorists to lock their cars.