Crime in Transit

Southampton’s Ford factory will cease production of the Transit van by 2011. Oh sad day, some cry, the vehicle that built Britain is being sidelined. But will the loss of the Transit have an incidental effect on the crime rate? Is this a subtle way to clean up Britain? The introduction of the Paracetamol 16 piece blister pack is believed to have cut the suicide rate by 25%, so maybe taking the vehicle of crime away will deter the potential criminal. In my professional life, the only vehicle that ever seems to come up in court – often including those that pull up outside court to unload the accused – is the ubiquitous Transit. It wasn’t a beige VW Transporter driver that tried to anti-Tebbit Dave Cameron off his bike with a well-timed shove. White Van Man is one thing – one of Britain’s more stagnant characters – but he’s small fry compared to Blue Van Man. We are a nation of van-driving murderers and our chief weapon is being revoked. As a classic 1973 Transit owner, I may mourn, but as a lawyer and a Brit, I’m glad that the blood-bath is over.

Officers have said they want to trace the owner of a blue transit van which is thought to have been seen in the drive of the pensioner's home last Wednesday.
A total of 500 blue Transit vans and over 180 Range Rovers were traced and eliminated during the course of the enquiry. … "However, we still need the public's help in tracing a white Transit-size van which was travelling in Sanderson Road behind the blue van we have now traced.”
His car was forced to a stop by a white transit van before two men got out of the van and opened fire.
Torbay Police are hunting a light blue Transit van in connection with the disappearance of a Paignton man nearly 5 months ago.
4 days later a blue transit van that was believed to be the same van that abducted Jenny was spotted by CCTV in Birmingham.
Danielle was seen talking to a man in a blue Transit van shortly after leaving home the day she disappeared.
Detectives say they have been able to pinpoint the time of death to within 36 hours and widened their search for the drivers of a blue Transit.
A suspicious blue Transit van was seen around the playing fields on Monday morning and could be linked to the burglary.
The married father of two had gone into the shop to buy a newspaper, but emerged to find his blue Ford Transit was being taken, the spokesman added. The vehicle then struck the victim a glancing blow before running him over.
Twenty years ago, on a dark November morning, a gang of five armed robbers were sitting in a stolen blue Transit van on the Heathrow trading estate, waiting for their "inside man" to turn up [... but let's not forget the Transit's dodgy axle problem ...]. As the robbers filled up the battered Transit with this windfall the vehicle's axles started to bend.