Parking at owners risk!

Parking at owners risk!
By Jagadish Angadi, DH News Service, Bangalore:
On an average 30 vehicles are reported stolen everyday in the City, but the recovery rate is less than 50 per cent, according to the police.

You will consider yourself lucky if you get a place to park your vehicle in the busy areas of Bangalore. You will be luckier if your vehicle is not stolen from the place where you park it.

On an average 30 vehicles are reported stolen everyday in the City, but the recovery rate is less than 50 per cent, according to the police. Stealing vehicles is an organised crime. Some years ago local gangs were in this business, but now inter-state gangs are very active.

The gangs operate in a larger area and dispose of stolen vehicles quickly. Even without documents, they are able to dispose of the vehicles at throw away price in different cities or rural areas. In some cases, thieves create fake records to dispose of the stolen vehicles, while dismantling the vehicles and sell them to garage owners is not a rare thing.

In fact, dismantling of vehicles has reduced the recovered rate of stolen vehicles, the police sources assert. An unholy nexus between gangs and garage owners is making the job of the police tough. Usually the number plates of stolen vehicles are changed to escape detection.

The gangs who are operating in the City are mostly from Hosur, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. The stolen vehicles are sold in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, police say. Many of the offenders are those who are already facing charges of theft and out on bail.

There are numerous instances of students of professional courses, boys from respectable families and even children of police officers lifting vehicles.

The police say vehicles lifters who once confined their operation to shopping complexes, crowded parking areas and commercial areas are now testing their talent in residential localities.

Majority of the thieves target two-wheelers followed by cars and three-wheelers. Lifting vehicles is easy - a duplicate key is sufficient. Most of them have master keys with which they can unlock vehicles easily. The police say Hero Honda is the most sought after by thieves, followed by mopeds like XL Super.

The police say that there are two types of vehicle thieves - the opportunist and the professional. An opportunist steals a vehicle for a means of transport - either a joy ride or to commit another crime. Such vehicles are easy to recover. Professionals steal vehicles for profit. They are usually in a gang and hence well organised. They either steal parts of vehicles or change the registration numbers of vehicles and resell them.

With space for parking vehicles shrinking in busy areas, people are forced to park vehicles wherever they get space.

Many of the thefts, police say, are a result of people’s neglect to properly lock their vehicles. If vehicles are parked in garages or basements of buildings, thefts could be reduced to a large extent. The government must construct multiple parking lots, so that security can be provided, vehicle users say.

The rate of recovery of two-wheelers is just 20 per cent, while that of cars is 32 per cent and of three-wheelers, 40 per cent. Nearly 600 new vehicles are added every day to the City roads, which are already choking with vehicles.

So, vehicle lifters get more and more business if the owners continue to be careless in safeguarding their vehicles and the City continues to lack parking lots.

TIPS FOR OWNERS
*Stolen cars/parts are more easily traced when engine number and chassis number are etched on car windows and major parts
*Use anti-theft devices that is visible, hard to defeat and renders the vehicle indrivable.
*nInstall fuel or power cut-off switches
*Don’t leave vehicle in unattended public lot for long.
*Lock vehicle when parked.
*Install a vehicle tracking and location system that can be activated after a four-wheeler is reported stolen. It’s a camera-like device, which can be installed inside a four-wheeler. There will be another separate electronic gadget having a screen. Camera-like device can be activated through the gadget. Once it is activated, location of the vehicle will be displayed on the screen. The device cost not less Rs 75,000. Not available in Bangalore.

Gopal Hosur, Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime has this to say on increasing vehicle theft in Bangalore:

DH: Why are vehicle thefts increasing in Bangalore?
Gopal Hosur: Sharp increase in the number of vehicles, less parking space, vehicle owners’ carelessness in adopting vehicle safety measures like installing a burglary alarm, negligence in properly locking the vehicles, parking vehicles wherever owners like and easy availability of insurance amount. All these factors are increasing vehicle theft cases.

Why is the percentage of recovery of stolen vehicles low?
Inter-state gangs are involved in vehicle thefts, which has made the job of tracing stolen vehicles for police.

What happened after a meeting of police officials of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu last year to strengthen inter-state border check posts to recover stolen vehicles?

There has not been much development after the meeting as many issues are involved.

How the BBMP can help in checking the theft?
Reintroduction of pay and park facility and providing common place in a particular locality to park vehicles. These steps will also help BBMP earn more revenue.