ANPEa parked car in The Hague
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 18:19
The number of thefts of cars and motorcycles has been declining for years. This trend continues at the beginning of this year. Stolen vehicles are also recovered more often. How is this possible?
The theft figures are maintained by the National Vehicle Crime Information Center (LIV). Criminals took 624 cars and motorcycles in January. That is 20 percent less than a year earlier.
More control in ports
The LIV cites increased port controls as the main cause of the decrease. “What we see is that many stolen cars are put in a container. They are then shipped, especially to Africa. There has been a lot of checks on this in the last two years,” says Edwin Karelsenk, director of the Vehicle Crime Insurance Agency (VbV).
It is also important that anti-theft systems continue to improve. “More and more vehicles have tracking and retrieval software. This makes them easier to track,” says Karelsen.
Stolen cars and motorcycles are often recovered within a day. More than 60 percent was recovered last year, a record. That is why thieves are increasingly targeting older models without security. The LIV sees the number of stolen vehicles aged twenty years and older increasing rapidly.
Keys with sleep mode
Another factor that plays a role is that manufacturers of cars that were frequently stolen have made adjustments. This happened, for example, with the Toyota RAV4, the most stolen car of 2023. “Thieves managed to send signals to the central computer via the wiring of the headlight. This allowed them to unlock the car,” says Karelsen. “Toyota has adjusted this. You can immediately see this in the theft figures.”
The same applies to vehicles that start without the key having to be in the ignition. Such a key continuously sends a signal and unlocks the car as soon as it is nearby. Thieves know how to pick up that signal with antennas, after which they unlock the car remotely. “Many manufacturers have stopped using these types of keys or have added a sleep mode. As a result, the signal can no longer always be picked up,” says Karelsen.
2024-02-22 17:19:42
#cars #motorcycles #stolen
