motorists or broken into their homes in order to steal the keys to a car. In 2005, the Home Office conducted a survey to find out the most stolen cars per registered in the UK: Vauxhall Belmont (1986–1991) Vauxhall Astra Mk2 (1984–1991) Ford Escort Mks 3 and 4 (1980–1990) Austin/MG Metro (1980–1990) Vauxhall Nova (1983–1993) Ford Orion (1983–1993) Rover Metro (1990–1994) Austin/MG/Rover Maestro (1983–1994) Austin/MG/Rover Montego (1984–1994) Ford Fiesta Mks1, 2 and 3 (1976–1995) The lack of security in older cars compared to modern equivalents is reflected in the fact that all of the cars listed had been out of production for at least 10 years, and the oldest examples of most of these cars were at least 20 years old. In 2009, the Home Office conducted a new survey and found out the most stolen cars (per registered) were as follows: Vauxhall Astra (1980–present) Volkswagen Golf (1974–present) Ford Fiesta (1976–present) Ford Focus (1998–present) Ford Escort (1968–2000) Vauxhall Corsa (1993–present) Ford Mondeo (1993–present) Ford Transit (1964–present) Vauxhall Vectra (1995–2008) Honda Civic (1972–present) The information released does not show the specific generation of a car, making it difficult to determine how many older examples were stolen in relation to more modern ones. For instance, the Ford Transit nameplate dates back to 1964, and the Ford Fiesta first appeared in 1976. However, the Ford Focus is the only nameplate on the list to have been introduced after 1995, around the time that car security standards became more advanced. United States In the United States, the most stolen cars in 2007 (per registered) were: Honda Civic Honda Accord Toyota Camry Ford F-150 Chevrolet Silverado Acura Integra Ram 1500 Nissan Sentra Toyota Pickup Toyota Corolla Northern Ireland In Northern Ireland, joyriding is a common crime, and many people have campaigned against it. Since the 1980s, a number of youth gangs have been in existence, particularly in nationalist areas of Belfast, dedicated to joyriding and other criminal activities. During The Troubles, paramilitaries such as the Provisional IRA administered to suspected joyriders extralegal punishment, usually consisting of breaking their fingers or kneecaps, in order to temporarily or permanently incapacitate them from operating most motor vehicles. These punishments are still given today by the Continuity IRA, a breakaway organization from the Provisional IRA. See also Criminal conversion Motor vehicle theft References Motor vehicle theft Hazardous motor vehicle activities 1900s neologisms