Locking your car with a remote key while you take your eyes off it is a bad idea. This is the main lesson to be learned from a criminal order issued on November 23 by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, relating to thefts from cars parked in the Migros Vibert parking lot, in Carouge. The day before, at the end of the afternoon, the police caught two individuals in the act of robbing vehicles: one was keeping watch, the other was searching the passenger compartments. Five automobiles were visited in this way, for a pitiful loot: 20 francs. A wave jammer box was found on one of the two thieves.
Police spokesperson, Aline Dard explains that this object does not allow vehicles to be opened, let alone started. On the other hand, it prevents them from closing. In short, it only works if the owner of the car does not look at it when he walks away and presses his remote key to lock it. It is therefore easy to avoid this type of theft. “We recommend not closing vehicles remotely. You must always check that it is properly closed when leaving it, and ensure that your headlights have flashed, or even that a red light has come on inside the passenger compartment.
The frequency of this type of theft is unknown to the police: if the wave jammer does its job, the criminal visits the car without breaking into it. Demonstrating the means used is therefore impossible. Only flagrante delicto allows this. Here, the defendant, a 35-year-old Georgian, was convicted of theft and sentenced to 90 days in prison.
