Sophistication, planning and daring: Advanced car theft squads are breaking records, and the situation is only going to get worse

Car thieves have undergone a tremendous transformation in recent years, with innovative technological methods and meticulous moves involving defined functionaries such as scouts and "engineers".

The theft targets have also changed and the cars are being brought into the depths of the territories.

The result: a 165% jump in theft cases.

The police and the courts have no answer

Keenan Cohen

22/04/2022

Friday, 22 April 2022, 20:25 Updated: 20:31

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Beginning of 2022 - an unprecedented record quarter in the field of car thefts (Photo: Official website, Pointer)

The bad news: The first quarter of 2022 marks a record-breaking quarter in the field of car theft in Israel, the worse news: it seems that the trend will only get worse.

These are the data that emerge from the reports of the operational lineup of Pointer and Ituran, which deal with locating and returning stolen vehicles.

The data from the two companies show a specialization of the theft squads at levels of sophistication, planning and daring that have not been seen before.

The two companies base their assessment on the continuation of the trend of price increases in spare parts due to difficulties in production, supply and transportation as a result of the corona and the fighting in Ukraine.

These factors are a growth engine for vehicle thefts.

More on Walla!

Because of the shortage of spare parts: a 125 percent increase in car thefts

To the full article

There are no safe hours

The thieves' squads, funded by criminal organizations, are made up of several functionaries, each of whom has a designated mission in what appears to be an orderly and planned method of work.

In the first stage, the patrol squads arrive.

They invade pre-defined areas, according to the division of territory derived from the areas of operation of each of the organizations.

The scouts locate the cars relevant to the burglary squads themselves, who specialize in stealing cars from a particular product.

They collect information not only about the location of the vehicles, their accessibility and optimal arrival time, but also about police patrols and surveillance in the area, recommended operating hours and more.

Vehicle restoration activity (Photo: Official Website, Pointer)

There is also a worrying change in the hours of operation.

If last year, and in previous years, the thefts were carried out mainly at night, between 22:00 and 5:00, in the first quarter of 2022 thefts were committed around the clock - meaning there are no "safe hours".

Cameras, it turns out, do not deter car thieves.

The cellular jammers method

After the Rangers come the break-in squads, which use the familiar and accepted techniques.

But what has changed significantly in recent years and is only gaining momentum are the technical people who make up these squads.

In such teams there is a person defined as the "engineer", who in the first stage deploys the cellular jammers which by means of electronic masking prevent the transmission of signals to the call center.

In 2021, such jammers will be used in 90 percent of the thefts, according to Pointer data.

The protection companies' solution to this problem involves the use of hybrid transmitters, which are capable of switching between several frequencies when a communication fault is detected or an attempt is made to block the cellular signal.

At the same time, they also send a distress signal to the hotline that warns of the experience.

In the next step, the car's protection system and the propulsion system are usually bypassed by connecting directly to the vehicle's computer.

The sophisticated equipment, which reaches the thieves absurdly from Israel, simulates the operation of the original car computer, and allows the car to be propelled even without the keys.

This method is used in 49% of thefts.

New popular destination: hybrid cars.

Vehicle Slaughterhouse (Photo: Official Website, Pointer)

After disabling the systems and propelling the car, the vehicle used by the burglary squads travels on the escape route before the vehicle that has just been stolen.

His job is to make sure the road is clear of roadblocks or mobility on the lane.

The destination to which the cars are transported has also changed in recent years.

Target for thefts: Intelligence and the Krayot

Whether the theft was carried out for the purpose of dismantling for spare parts or for sale, in the case of a special car that was "ordered" in advance, to the destinations that were previously the most popular - Qalqilya and Tulkarm, two new destinations have recently joined - Jenin and Ramallah.

According to sources in the locating companies, there are several reasons for this.

They point to the rise in living standards in these two cities, which also gives rise to demand for stolen cars as well as the fact that these cities are far from the seam line and that thieves' sense of security increases when they are deep in the area, out of reach of police, military or patrol companies.

Try to finish the events as quickly as possible.

Arrest of a squad of thieves (Photo: Official Website, Pointer)

In some cases, the transition to the PA areas is not done at all on the familiar roads, but through huge gaps in the perforated separation fence, which allow the passage of vehicles.

Unfortunately, these breaches are used not only for criminal activity but also for terrorist activity.

"Gaps in the fence, which are used for the passage of Shavuot (illegal residents), are also used to transport vehicles at various points for the purpose of theft and sometimes, unfortunately, also terrorists," they say in Pointer. To the damage of billions of shekels to the Israeli market, and also feeds with money "scams and violence."

The impact of the move to Ramallah in central Samaria and Jenin in northern Samaria also changes the "heat map" of the cities from which cars are stolen.

If in the past these were the coastal plain and the Sharon area, now these are Modi'in and the Krayot (with a 100% increase), which are becoming centers of activity for car thieves.

Intelligence due to its proximity to Ramallah, and the Krayot due to the relative ease with which it is possible to reach C

Resistance and stone throwing

In the segmentation of car thefts by types, we again see the correspondence with the trends in the entire car market.

Since most thefts are carried out for the purpose of supplying cheap spare parts, according to the two companies there has been a steady increase in recent years in demand for Jeeps, RVs, SUVs and crossovers of all kinds, accounting for 47% of all pointer attempts and 45% Ituran data.

Locating companies are now beginning to identify another market segment that is becoming more attractive - hybrid cars - which, while becoming more and more common in the market as used, is also increasing the demand for spare parts, including batteries, which are a very expensive component in such cars.

The increase in the number of theft incidents, and as a result in cases where the teams of locating companies follow the thieves, often leads to friction in the field.

The locating companies tell of manifestations of violence, of wild and life-threatening driving of the thieves and more.

Even when the car is located in the territories and attempts are made to return it, the operation is conducted under the opposition and stone-throwing of the locals in the villages.

Only six months in prison

This is why companies strive to end events as quickly as possible, and away from localities or major arteries.

Another angle for real-time and hot squad arrest is provided by Nir Sheretsky, CEO of Ituran.

To what extent can the thieves be arrested and imprisoned? As far as the Israeli legal system is concerned, it is difficult to build on deterrence. Who was charged with two other accomplices in the theft.In another case, only six months of actual imprisonment was imposed on a defendant convicted on his confession of three counts of aiding and abetting a vehicle.

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