It’s a freezing cold morning, you go out to warm the car up and pop back inside to finish your morning coffee – but what happens if opportunistic thieves are watching?
Motorists across Cork are being warned to take care and not leave their cars running outside their homes – unattended – as there have been a spate of thefts from estates in and around the city.
The popular Facebook community group, Glanmire Noticeboard, is one of a number of social media sites carrying warnings from people who have either been the victims of this – or have spotted suspicious vehicles and individuals waiting to pounce. In one case, a car taken from Glanmire was found later on, abandoned at the gates of a cemetery on the northside of the city.
One poster said that at 5.30am this morning, they had left their car running outside their house on an estate in Glanmire, when they went back inside for a few minutes. They were even keeping an eye on their motor via their doorbell camera, but that didn’t stop thieves swooping in.
“I was watching the car from our camera on my phone and noticed headlights behind my car,” they said.
“Thinking it might be a neighbour, I went out to see how icy the estate was, but as soon as I opened the front door a guy jumped into the car and sped off”.
Another Glanmire resident said that two cars drove into their estate that same morning, seemingly checking houses to see if any cars had been left outside warming up. They were convinced the thieves were “definitely checking to see what cars are being defrosted”.
As CorkBeo reported recently, 2024 was the worst year for car thefts in more than a decade in Cork.
Over the last 18 months, towns like Ballincollig, Carrigaline and parts of Cork city have seen thieves prowling through estates searching for unlocked cars.
While these criminals are primarily looking for valuables like cash, jewellery and electronics some cars have been stolen outright during these sprees. Gardaí have advised motorists on how to keep their vehicles safe, highlighting that the vast majority of victims simply forgot to lock their cars.
Garda Oonagh Collins from Clonakilty Garda Station said: “We’ve spoken about this before but it continues and we consider this ‘opportunity crime’ where individuals just check cars to see if they’re locked or unlocked and in a lot of situations they remain unlocked or insecure which means easy access for criminals.
“We’re asking listeners to secure your property at all times, park in well-lit areas and remove all valuables from the vehicle. If you can’t remove them you should at least put them out of sight or in the boot if you can,” she told Patricia Messinger on C103’s Cork Today Show.