This is a spine-tingling post: The Department of the Interior, through its Departmental Homeland Security Statistical Service (SSMSI), has just published official figures for insecurity and crime for 2022, and we can say that the news is not very good.

Indeed, this report analyzes various crime rates in France, such as murder, assault and battery, theft and burglary. In 2022, almost all of these crime rates increased compared to the previous year car theft is on the rise.

Car theft: a sharp increase in crime

Indeed, in 2022, the number of vehicle thefts recorded by Homeland Security will increase dramatically. +9% growth, after 2021, which was marked by stability. In particular, the number of car thefts increased sharply in the second quarter of 2022, before falling in the third and fourth quarters.

A certain sense of impunity is behind these poor statistics: indeed, we learn that according to the Habitat and Safety Survey, only 52% of households that were victims of theft or attempted theft of motorized two-wheelers filed a complaint, compared to 89% of households that have been victims of a car theft, and only 37% of households that have been victims of attempted car theft.

Car thefts: the most affected departments

Vehicle thefts were higher in 2022 than in 2021 in many departments: the departments with the sharpest increase (by more than 37%) are Cantal, Creuse, English Channel, Loire and Cher, Nièvres, Hautes-Alpes, Finistère and Ile-et-Villenes. But it should be noted that the increase in the number of thefts of vehicles registered in these departments contributes only 1.2 points of the national increase, which is +9%.

The Bouches-du-Rhône, Seine-et-Marne and Rhône departments recorded increases that contributed the most to the national increase (+1.7 points combined). Some departments show a decrease in the number of vehicle thefts: Val-de-Marne, Paris, Guyana, Mayotte, Ariège, Orne, Tarn and Lauzer.

Theft from cars: the phenomenon is also on the rise

In addition to vehicle theft, we also observe a a significant increase in thefts from vehicles by +9%. : is the theft of objects, accessories or car parts that are inside or outside the car. For example, the study cites audio and video accessories or means of payment stored on board the vehicle. The departments of Mayenne, Calvados, Seine-Maritime, Loire et Cher, Hautes-Alpes and Cher were the most affected.

Regarding the only one theft of accessories from vehicles, we see a very significant increase in the number of cases in 2022 with +30% growth. A very alarming figure, especially in the Nord department, where last year there was a 49% increase in thefts from vehicles!