Space outside your house prone to vehicle thefts

NEW DELHI: The parking space outside your home may be the most vulnerable spot from where your vehicle might get stolen, police data on theft of motor vehicles in Delhi for 2017 showed.

More than half of the 39,080 vehicles stolen from Delhi were taken from outside the owner’s home where they were parked. While most crimes dipped in 2017, the number of motor vehicle (MV) thefts increased yet again accounting for around 18 per cent of all crimes registered in Delhi.

At the annual Delhi police press conference on Thursday, special commissioner of police (crime) RP Upadhyay said till December 15 last year, 55% of the 39,080 vehicles were stolen from outside the homes of their owners. Police attributed the high number of such thefts to the shortage of parking space and the general practice of parking vehicles on the roadside. The second most common place for theft were places that vehicle owners or drivers had visited and parked at.

“Non-availability of parking places in residential areas is a major issue and when vehicles are left out in the open at night, it makes it easier for the thieves to strike. The second major category is place of visit of the car owner which could again be someone else’s house or a market place,” said Upadhyay.

Traffic police chief and special commissioner of police Dependra Pathak said lack of parking spaces and haphazardly parked vehicles on road is an open invitation to thieves. “It makes the theft easier than breaking into a house, where the risk of getting caught is higher. Also, t hieves are assured t hat a car lying unguarded is worth several lakh rupees and can double up as a transport to flee,” said Pathak.

Motor vehicle theft cases in 2017 increased by around 7% (39,080 cases) in comparison to 36,702 cases in 2016. Bulk of these vehicles are two wheelers – motor cycles or scooters.

On reasons for increasing cases of vehicle thefts, police said the introduction of online FIR system has made it easier for many victims to lodge complaints. Since 2015 when the online registration facility was started, police said over 1 lakh E-FIRS have been filed.

Pathak said that indifference of owners and their reluctance to spend money on installing security systems was also one of the causes for increasing thefts.

WHAT HAPPENS TO STOLEN VEHICLE

Police said that trends show that vehicles stolen from Delhi are disposed in places as far as West Bengal and some of the north eastern states. Some of them are even sent to Bangladesh. “It is easy to create and alter records in some states because it is manually entered. Non-availability of a fixed registration number plate, unlike Delhi, facilitates re-painting of the number plate,” said Pathak.

Outside owner's house Other places Place of visit Parking lots Hospitals/clinics Religious places Metro stations Office (in %)