How and why do we Design against Car Crime?

“The first documented case of car theft was in 1896, only a decade after gas-powered cars were first introduced.” “Some studies claim that a car gets broken into every twenty seconds in the United States alone.”(http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-alarm.htm, last accessed 25/03/03). Most people at one time or another in their life have had something stolen. This experience can be very traumatic for the victim. It can lead to depression, a feeling of victimisation and paranoia. It can be a long and arduous process trying to recover money from insurance companies and you never usually recover the full amount. To add insult to injury insurance companies also hold you responsible for the theft, which acts against you when you try to reinsure. Cars are broken into and stolen for many different reasons. A common reason for break-ins is bags, phones and wallets or any other personal item thought by the thief to be valuable left on view in the car. Never leave anything on display when yo...