If the thefts of car radios do not really make any more talk about them, the police force of Saint-Etienne warns of another worrying phenomenon: criminals do not hesitate to seize squarely the whole central console, multimedia system included, in particular on models of the Volkswagen group.
A broken window and a dismantled center console. In the metropolis of Saint-Étienne, in recent days, several motorists have had this bad surprise. The national police of the Loire (department 42) therefore encourages vigilance on its Twitter thread. In particular if you are the owner of a Volkswagen Group model, whose productions seem particularly targeted.
[#vigilance] Motorists, do% u26A0% uFE0F to your vehicles. Thefts of central consoles have been observed in recent days @SteMetropole. The% uD83D% uDE97 of the brand @vwgroup_fr are particularly targeted. You notice suspicious individuals, dial 17. pic.twitter.com/YrGzUrDKpU
– National Police 42 (@ PoliceNat42) August 13, 2021
But beware, this does not mean that other brands are spared, as shown in a photo of a Mercedes interior. This type of delinquency, which is rampant throughout France, very often obeys a logic of “orders”, and the targets of criminals can therefore vary over time.
Multimedia systems in the line of sight
If you notice suspicious individuals, the police will also ask you to dial 17 to warn them. You will be able to help them fight against these crimes, which are proving difficult to contain. Once the window is broken, thieves have no trouble ripping off the center console, without being careful. They are not interested in plastics or aerators, but your precious multimedia system and its screen. Items that they can then easily resell. These misdeeds are thus the successors of car radio thefts, which were numerous in the 1980s and 1990s. However, here, it is unfortunately impossible to protect yourself by taking the facade with you! So there is no miracle parade, but you can still limit the risks a little by parking your car in a secure parking lot rather than far from everything.
TO READ. Car theft: the most affected regions and vehicles in 2020
