Motorists urged to ‘park smart’ after spate of thefts from cars

GARDAÍ have urged the public to ‘park smart’ following a spate of thefts from parked cars across the North Cork division over the course of last weekend.

The warning has come after more than a dozen cars were targeted by opportunist thieves in Mallow, Fermoy, Castleyons, Midleton and Carrigtwohill between last Friday evening and Monday morning.

Fermoy-based crime prevention officer Sgt John Kelly said it would be wrong to say the cars were ‘ broken into’ as it transpired they had actually been left unlocked by their owners.

“In most of these incidents there was no sign of forced entry, there were no damaged doors or locks and no broken windows. People had not taken even the most basic of security measures by simply locking their cars,” said Sgt Kelly.

“When people are away from home they tend to lock their cars. However, when parking them outside their homes or in their drives, they seem to think they are immune to this kind of theft and have a false sense of security. As we saw last weekend, that is most definitely not the case,” he added.

Gardaí estimate that, on average, more than €340,000 worth of property, including cash, jewellery, tools, laptops and sports equipment is stolen from unlocked cars each year.

Sgt Kelly said that it is often the case that these kind of thefts are perpetrated by opportunist gangs who travel from outside of the target area.

“We have CCTV footage of fellas going along a street trying the doors handles of one car after another. If the car is locked they keep going until they find a car that is unlocked and then rifle through it,” he said.

Sgt Kelly said there was a concern that flagging this type of theft might give thieves the idea to try it. “Of course that is a concern. However, if we do not highlight what is going on them people will remain lax about their security,” he said.

“Our advice is to never store valuables in a car, and if you have to keep them out of sight, park your vehicle in a secure and well-lit spot where possible and, most importantly of all, make sure it is locked.