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10 Seconds…The Fastest Theft Ever

It is what it takes to a thief to steal a car; these days, thieves are more aggressive and take advantage of traffic jams

13 de junio de 2014 13:16 hs
El Observador | Redacción

Por  Redacción

The time you spend reading this paragraph is enough for a thief to break the car glass, steal some of the valuable objects, struggle with the victim, and even start running.

This is not something new, but it used to be different. Some years ago, the usual car theft was all about breaking the window glass and stealing the stereo while the car was unoccupied. These days, thefts take place in rush hours with or without passengers inside the cars. Ladies are no longer the exclusive targets. “Thieves were careless 15 years ago. Today thieves are aggressive” said to El Observador Sergio Gutiérrez, owner of a laminated safety glass shop Vitro Guard, who receives between 30 and 40 visits per day.

Marcelo Olivera is one of the victims. At around 10 pm, two 25-year-old men, came to him with a gun in Senaque and Bv. José Batlle y Ordoñez. “I managed to start the engine, without thinking, I took the handbrake off and accelerated as fast as I could, while a gun was pointing at me and half of my body was outside the car” he said to El Observador.

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“I was not scared of being robbed, but giving them the money or the car does not mean they are not going to hurt you anyway,” he stated. He called 911 but the Police could not find the thieves.

Traffic...An Ally.

According to Citycop, the theft of vehicles is one of the most frequently reported crimes, and according to Federico Cella, one of its founders, it is one of the most growing categories. On Friday, when El Observador entered this platform, there had been 16 new alerts, and six of them corresponded to broken glasses and robberies to drivers.

El Observador requested statistics to the Communication Unit of the Ministry of Home Affairs, but the request was denied, since such information is said to be used to organize the operations and making it public would “warn the thieves”.

Among the different testimonies heard by El Observador, there was a common pattern:thieves work in teams, one of them commits the crime and the other waits in a motorcycle.


One of the most dangerous places, according to Vitro-Guard´s owner, is the corner of Bulevar Artigas and BulevarEspaña. Several clients come from that corner.

The same happens in front of the Hospital de Clínicas, Tres Cruces Bus Station and almost every corner of Avenida Italia and Ricaldoni.

Traffic is chaotic in those areas and it is impossible to react when you are beingrobbed. Other dangerous points are the areas surrounding Hospitals.

Another red spot is the traffic light of Rambla and Río Negro. Julia Pou was robbed there in July 2012. A thief stole her purse with US$ 1,400 in it. Her finger was broken when struggling with the thief.

A situation that lasts 10 seconds or less, may cost around $ 11,800, if considering identification documents and vehicle repairs expenses.

Another theft occurred when four cars crashed. “The thieves ran towards the mobile police station from where the spot can be perfectly seen. The documentation cannot be recovered, since they burn it. If you enter the slums, you can find jackets, purses and piled up clothing” told a witness.

Glass Blast

Injuries are very common. Marcelo Ferrari, Manager of the safety laminated glass Polifilms said these are more likely to be “burglaries rather than thefts”. And he added: “They break into the cars with violence and when the passengers inside”.

Both Polifilms and Vitro-Guard had to expand their business because of the increasing amount of victims and those people who take preventive measures. The first company, for example, registered 15% and 20% sustained growth in the past five years. Both companies receive more than 30 phone calls per day.

Among the victims interviewed by El Observador, some of them were injured by “glass in the eyes” or in the mouth, face or hand cuts; even women who bit thieves when feeling desperate.

“Living in this city is like living in the Far West”, said the owner of the company.

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