Well, a new house has been found, and when my flat has been sold, it'll be car purchase time

I'd intended to buy an Evo or another Scooby of some description, but have noticed an alarming increase in the number of threads reporting thefts, attempted thefts, house break-ins etc. Also some people seem to be having to go to quite ridiculous measures to secure their cars.

Does anybody have any solid data on how bad the problem is now? It was only when selling my last impreza privately that I became a little uneasy. Whilst owning the car, I was never followed, nobody ever tried to steal it etc. Have things really changed in the past year? All being well, I'll be moving to Hitchin, Herts (just north of Stevenage) - is this a good/bad area for thefts?

If I've got to turn my garage into Fort Knox, and can't leave the car anywhere, I think I'll be looking for something different, so any info/advice appreciated.

Gary.