OMEN
06-05-2006, 01:09 AM
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Torched ... $400K Benz burnt after it was used in an ATM theft
A DEADLY form of carjacking, called the "bump and rob" has police warning the drivers of luxury high performance cars to take extra safety precautions.
Car thieves have adopted the method, which has prompted New York police to warn drivers who are rear-ended in traffic to direct the other vehicle to follow them to the nearest police station.
The crime involves one car, usually with a driver and at least one passenger, which rear-ends or "bumps" a target in traffic.
When a driver gets out to check the damage and exchange information while the driver or passenger jumps in and drives off in the car.
On Saturday evening, a Sydney couple were "bumped" by a Subaru Outback 4WD as they drove their silver 2005 Audi S4 sedan.
The 45-year-old man was then dragged away when he went to inspect the damage, while a second man armed with a gun pulled the man's wife from the car. The thieves then drove off with the Audi.
The incident happened at Spit Road and Awaba Street, Mosman, just before 6pm. The Balgowlah couple was unhurt but extremely shaken.
Strikeforce Piccadilly, set up last August to investigate carjackings, is looking into the matter.
In recent months, police have been forced to issue warnings to drivers of expensive cars to take extra security precautions.
In New York, where the trend has become common, police urge motorists feeling uneasy after being bumped to signal the other car to follow you to the nearest police station.
A NSW Police spokesman echoed those instructions, saying if motorists feared for their safety after being bumped they should call police or drive to the nearest police station.
But the driver also has to weigh up their responsibility to stop and offer assistance in accidents where people are injured, the spokesman said.
Stolen high-performance, late-model vehicles are typically used as getaway cars in ATM ram-raids and dumped shortly afterwards. ATMs can hold up to $300,000 in cash and with increasingly high security at banks, ram-raids have become the crime of choice for Sydney's criminal gangs.
The crime involves up to four vehicles, all usually stolen, a 4WD for the ramming, a van to take the ATM and two high-performance cars for the getaway. Hence the crime wave in Sydney's most expensive suburbs as gangs seek late-model cars. The cars are usually dumped and torched after being used in one or more crimes.
Police report that because immobilisation technology has made theft of unattended, late-model vehicles almost impossible, thieves, driven as much by the love of "flash" cars as by practical considerations, have been holding up drivers across Sydney's wealthy suburbs.
On Friday, a 43-year-old woman driving a 2004 Subaru in Burwood, in the innerwest, was chased by two men on a motorcycle, who smashed the vehicle's windows to force her from the car.
NewsAU
Torched ... $400K Benz burnt after it was used in an ATM theft
A DEADLY form of carjacking, called the "bump and rob" has police warning the drivers of luxury high performance cars to take extra safety precautions.
Car thieves have adopted the method, which has prompted New York police to warn drivers who are rear-ended in traffic to direct the other vehicle to follow them to the nearest police station.
The crime involves one car, usually with a driver and at least one passenger, which rear-ends or "bumps" a target in traffic.
When a driver gets out to check the damage and exchange information while the driver or passenger jumps in and drives off in the car.
On Saturday evening, a Sydney couple were "bumped" by a Subaru Outback 4WD as they drove their silver 2005 Audi S4 sedan.
The 45-year-old man was then dragged away when he went to inspect the damage, while a second man armed with a gun pulled the man's wife from the car. The thieves then drove off with the Audi.
The incident happened at Spit Road and Awaba Street, Mosman, just before 6pm. The Balgowlah couple was unhurt but extremely shaken.
Strikeforce Piccadilly, set up last August to investigate carjackings, is looking into the matter.
In recent months, police have been forced to issue warnings to drivers of expensive cars to take extra security precautions.
In New York, where the trend has become common, police urge motorists feeling uneasy after being bumped to signal the other car to follow you to the nearest police station.
A NSW Police spokesman echoed those instructions, saying if motorists feared for their safety after being bumped they should call police or drive to the nearest police station.
But the driver also has to weigh up their responsibility to stop and offer assistance in accidents where people are injured, the spokesman said.
Stolen high-performance, late-model vehicles are typically used as getaway cars in ATM ram-raids and dumped shortly afterwards. ATMs can hold up to $300,000 in cash and with increasingly high security at banks, ram-raids have become the crime of choice for Sydney's criminal gangs.
The crime involves up to four vehicles, all usually stolen, a 4WD for the ramming, a van to take the ATM and two high-performance cars for the getaway. Hence the crime wave in Sydney's most expensive suburbs as gangs seek late-model cars. The cars are usually dumped and torched after being used in one or more crimes.
Police report that because immobilisation technology has made theft of unattended, late-model vehicles almost impossible, thieves, driven as much by the love of "flash" cars as by practical considerations, have been holding up drivers across Sydney's wealthy suburbs.
On Friday, a 43-year-old woman driving a 2004 Subaru in Burwood, in the innerwest, was chased by two men on a motorcycle, who smashed the vehicle's windows to force her from the car.
NewsAU