Series of Thefts Strip Cars of Their Wheels in São Paulo

07/14/2017 - 11h44

Tânia Stocco, 53, a civil servant, said she was overcome by an "indescribable" sensation when she opened the front door and saw that her car was literally on the ground - without its four wheels which were stolen overnight by thieves. "Who ever thought something like this could happen?", she pondered

The Civil Police published a survey for the first time - which Folha obtained - revealing that this sort of crime has become routine in the city's Eastern district: 168 similar cases were reported to the police between the months of March and May of this year in that district alone: an average of almost 2 per day.

The number of cases does not include spare tires that are reported stolen: a crime which is even more typical, not to mention that a lot of cases aren't even reported.

This sort of offense - where 2 or 4 wheels are stripped off of parked cars - has even been reported in other districts, although police have been focusing on gangs in the Eastern district that have been focusing on this form of theft since 2016.

Many victims don't even report this sort of offense since they don't expect the cases to be resolved.

Police believe that thieves consider such forms of theft appealing because the items they steal are pricey and chances of going to jail are low (such offenses yield a maximum sentence of four years).

According to the Secretariat of Public Security of PSDB governor Geraldo Alckmin, between the months of March and May of this year, 6 suspects were arrested in connection with wheel and spare tire theft. The secretariat did, however, highlight a 12% drop in terms of motor vehicle theft in the state capital in May.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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	Arquivo Pessoal
	Tânia Stocco, a civil servant, saw that her car was literally on the ground - without its four wheels