Fourfold rise in Blue Badge theft in London shows need for police and council funding – Unmesh Desai AM

London has seen more than a 400% increase in the number of blue badges stolen, according to new figures.

A total of 6,415 badges were recorded as stolen last year by the Metropolitan Police. This figure has risen steadily over the past decade, with 1,230 badges stolen in the capital in 2014.

Stolen blue badges can be used to illegally access free parking across the capital, with campaign group Blue Badge Fraud Investigations highlighting that up to 1 in 5 blue badges in urban areas could be fraudulent.[1]

Assembly Member Desai, who uncovered the figures, has said that this is the outcome of a “perfect storm” of an overstretched Metropolitan Police force and cuts to council budgets.

Police can lack the capacity to pursue thefts, with up to two thirds of thefts from vehicles “screened out” with no further investigation in the capital[2], something which Assembly Member Desai has said contributes to criminals continuing to steal blue badges and sell them on the black market.

He had advocated for greater resources and training for police officers to recognise and address stolen blue badges, who often lack the time and understanding to do so.

Assembly Member Desai has said this has been combined with councils deprioritising non-statutory or non-revenue raising work, such as detecting blue badge fraud, as a result of long-term pressures on their budgets.

He has also encouraged the Department for Transport to consider sharing more information from the Blue Badge database with police forces so that that those being misused can be better identified.

Unmesh Desai, London Assembly Labour spokesperson for policing and crime, said:

“Blue badge theft is not a victimless crime. Behind each of these numbers is a Londoners robbed of their ability to live and travel independently – and a criminal using their badge to avoid parking fines and effectively defraud taxpayers.

“These figures are the outcome of a perfect storm of underfunding and neglect of disabled Londoners. Londoners have seen overstretched police budgets and underfunded councils, both of whom need investment into staff and training to catch those using stealing and misusing badges.”

“With the right funding, training and data sharing to help protect disabled drivers from being targeted by criminals, we can tackle this problem. I also encourage blue badge holders to hide their badges overnight or purchase a Blue Badge Protector.”

Paul Stowey, Founder of Blue Badge Fraud Investigations, said:

“These statistics are a sad reflection on London in 2024. The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members, but on average 18 Londoners a day find themselves a victim of crime purely because they are disabled. This is clearly unacceptable.

“I warn offenders: the badges have serial numbers on the front. They are easy to identify and it's an easy crime to solve if the police can prioritise it. The courts take a very dim view of drivers who use stolen badges.”

ENDS

Notes

• Unmesh Desai is London Assembly Labour Policing and Crime Spokesperson and London Assembly Member for City and East
• Data for the number of blue badge thefts reported to police can be found in Mayoral Question 2024/0666 and is copied below.