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Schwerin (dpa / mv) - According to the police, the convenience of modern vehicle electronics also has its pitfalls.

With the help of special devices, car thieves would intercept and amplify the signal from car keys and thus gain access to the vehicles parked in front of the apartment buildings.

Vehicle keys for so-called "keyless-go" systems, in which the car is unlocked and made ready to start as soon as the key is nearby, should therefore not simply be deposited behind the apartment door, warned a spokeswoman for the State Criminal Police Office in Rampe near Schwerin.

Protection would be offered by a metal key safe or a special security film for the key pocket.

Regardless of the criminal energy of car thieves, the technical development in vehicle construction has contributed significantly to the fact that thieves are less and less successful.

In 2020, the trend of declining car thefts, which has been registered in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for years, continued, said the spokeswoman for the authorities, but without giving any figures.

According to the latest crime statistics, 424 cars were stolen nationwide in 2019.

In 2011 there were about three times as many with 1363.

Since then, the numbers have dropped significantly.

According to initial estimates by the State Criminal Police Office, the amount of damage caused by car theft has also decreased.

In addition, the clearance rate has increased slightly, so that car owners were able to get some of their vehicles back.

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Models from the Volkswagen brand would still be very popular with thieves, closely followed by cars from the manufacturers Mercedes Benz and Audi.

Car thieves would have struck comparatively often in the Hanseatic city of Rostock in 2020.

In some cases it has also been confirmed that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is a transit country for stolen high-quality vehicles.

These cars were stolen in western federal states and should be brought to Eastern Europe.

The perpetrators were often extremely professional and work-sharing, it was said.

This also applies to the theft of vehicle parts such as catalytic converters, airbags and navigation systems.

Criminal statistics MV 2019, p. 86