A slow reduction in car thefts and "joyriding" in Belfast has been recorded, according to the officer in charge of an RUC unit for tackling such crimes.
Inspector Liam Byrne, of Team Auto Crime, said yesterday that "early indicators" showed a decrease in car thefts. However, an average of 25 cars were still being reported stolen in the city every day.
The 27-strong unit, established in 1999, arrested 111 car criminals last year. According to Insp Byrne, up to 2,000 youths were involved in opportunistic "joyriding" around Belfast. About 200 are described as "hard core" car criminals.
He said information-led policing was also being used to target a further 20 figures believed to be engaged in the resale of stolen vehicles to the public.
Officers recently detected a gang cutting up expensive stolen cars to transport them south to be "rung up" and sold.
He said "joyriders" were targeting newer cars, hoping to sell them to criminals in resales.
In a spate of house burglaries around Belfast over the last year, car thieves specifically stole the keys of prestige cars.
He stressed that the unit wished to work with communities. "Our unit has an open-door policy, and we hope that in a new dispensation there will be even more community involvement so residents can become the brains and muscle of the unit," he said.
Typically, criminals steal vehicles from the residential areas of south Belfast and later dump them in west Belfast.
A "joyriding" culture embedded itself among Catholic youths in the west of the city as miles of road were left without police or British army patrols.
A total of 307 stolen cars have been recovered in the Poleglass and Andersonstown area of west Belfast since the beginning of this year. Local republicans recently launched a poster campaign in the area to warn young people about the dangers of "joyriding".
This week a Sinn Fein councillor, Mr Sean Hayes, also spoke out against car crime in the Markets area of the city. He said that on Sunday night two women were almost knocked down by a speeding stolen car.
"Those who are involved in such anti-social behaviour are serving no other purpose other than destroying their own areas," he said.
He described the RUC car-crime initiative as "cosmetic" and said it had had no effect.
Community restorative justice mediation programmes, run locally by republicans, were the only schemes effectively tackling the issue, he claimed.