A committed West Midlands Police cop has found stolen cars with a total value of more than £500,000 in the last six months − and many on his drive home from work!

Neighbourhood Police Chief Inspector Dave Keen varies his commute through east Birmingham to take in addresses linked to prolific offenders and sites popular with crooks to dump stolen cars to “cool off" before returning.

His intuition has led him to locate 35 stolen cars since July 2017 including high-value Audi, Ford and Mercedes-Benz models. Chief Insp Keen, said:

“I’m looking for vehicles that look out of place and when you’re driving along certain streets regularly you get to know what cars tend to be parked there − and any odd ones you’ve not seen before stand out.

“The identification of many stolen cars will have been altered − that’ll be clear to police officers − but a lot of it is local knowledge and following up your gut instinct when something doesn’t look right.

“Twenty years ago I was tutored by an exceptional, very professional traffic officer who got me interested in vehicle crime and cloning − and it’s stuck with me ever since."

Dave reckons up to a third of all the stolen cars he’s located have been in his own time while heading home with the rest as a result of proactive police patrolling. He added:

“I have several different routes I take on the way home…I’d say they might add about 15 minutes onto my journey but it’s well worth the detour if it uncovers a stolen vehicle and potentially evidence to catch a car thief. 

“I think the highest value car I’ve recovered was a £55,000 Audi. We managed to return it to the owner within four days of it being stolen; it’s fair to say they were extremely grateful."

Chief Inspector Keen’s keen eye for stolen cars has resulted in numerous arrests and several suspects are now awaiting court trials having been charged with offences including burglary, theft and handling stolen goods.