Car insurance premiums cracked by female vandals
1.5m women 'vandalising cars'
Sunday, 06 Jul 2008 21:28
Five per cent of women admit to vandalising a car.
A poll by Direct Line Car Insurance reveals as many as 1.5 million admit to motor vandalism at some point – with one in ten women vandals causing damage while boozed up.
Damage is also not limited to cars, with 4.25 per cent of women polled admitting to deliberately damaging property within the past five years – with women most commonly 'fessing up' to graffiti, tampering with road signs and destroying traffic cones.
While nine per cent stated too much drink was the reason for their vandalism, 23 per cent put it down to boredom.
Research by Channel 4 News recently found the number of women arrested for being drunk and disorderly has soared by up to 1,000 per cent in some regions.
Sixty-two per cent of women vandals said damage was a 'spur of the moment' act, while eight per cent revealed they were pressured into deliberately causing damage by their peers.
Jennifer Culley, spokesperson for Direct Line car insurance, said: "Our UK Vandalism Report suggests the number of female car vandals appears to be part of an overall escalation in the number of car vandalism incidents."
The number of motorists who have been victims of car vandalism has risen to 30 per cent of all car owners nationwide, up from 11 per cent two years ago.
"The growing trend of ‘girl gang' culture does seem to be responsible for a significant percentage of car vandalism crimes," Ms Culley said.
Psychotherapist Christine Webber said: "Levels of stress are getting quite out of control. We should never forget that out-of-control rage could possibly end up in a criminal conviction.
"That would prove a lot more stressful than taking a decision to tackle stress levels before we lose our rag. When we resort to vandalism we totally lose any moral high-ground we might have had."