The crooks smashed the camera – unaware video of their faces had already been savedCar thieves caught on internal dashcam

A Cork homeowner has managed to catch the faces of crooks who stole their car on video – showing them panicking as they flee the scene just moments after the crime.

The two thieves were caught red-handed by a dashcam recording inside the car, which was stolen from outside a home in Carrigaline in the early hours of Sunday 22nd February. The crooks were first captured on CCTV driving up to the property in a vehicle which they abandoned by the driveway. They then gained access to the homeowner’s car and rummaged around its interior, wearing face coverings and caps to hide their identities.

Once they had stolen the vehicle and were driving away, the thieves let their guard down and revealed their faces – unaware that a dashcam in the vehicle was recording them. In the video, which Cork Beo has blurred for legal reasons, the crook driving the car is seen yelling at his accomplice to wipe the windscreen so he can get a clearer view of the road.

A few seconds later, the second thief spots the camera in the car and points it out to the driver, who shouts at him to “Break it.” Less than a second later, the video cuts out. It appears that the thieves were able to disable the camera – but forgot that all the footage was being recorded onto memory cards inside the device.

The jeep was abandoned about a 20-minute drive away from the home and was later returned to its rightful owner. The footage from the dashcam was then easily recovered. Devices like these have been growing increasingly common in Cork over the past few months following a rise in car thefts in several areas. With some dashcams, people can even upload the footage to a cloud and then download it straight to their phone – making it even easier to access on demand.

Gardaí have confirmed that an investigation into this theft in Carrigaline is ongoing but no arrests have yet been made.

The rise in homeowners getting CCTV cameras, dashcams and ring doorbells is playing a vital role in combating car thieves in Co. Cork. Earlier this month, a number of crooks were caught on camera in the Glenville area, near Watergrasshill, jumping garden walls, checking car doors and rummaging inside vehicles. They were even brazen enough to return multiple nights in a row, seemingly making their way through properties in the area systematically.

All of this video was shown to Gardaí, who later held a special meeting to address concerns about thieves in the area. Just days later, north of Cork city, a would-be thief was caught on doorbell camera footage searching for spare keys under a doormat. And this follows another attempted theft in Cork city last month, where a mum woke up to unsettling footage that showed a man searching her car and trying to open her front door in the dead of night. Aoife, a mother of two living in Blackrock, alerted Gardaí and shared the footage online in a warning to others.

Gardaí across the country have also issued a number of alerts about car thefts in recent weeks, as well as tips on what you can do to protect yourself. This includes a warning over thieves using new, modern technology that allows them to access keyless cars. Gardaí in Tipperary also issued the following advice in recent days as they warned motorists to stay vigilant against prowling crooks:

Lock all car doors and remove valuables from displayDon’t leave your car runningSecure all downstairs windows and doorsStore house and car keys safely(away from windows and doors)Activate your house alarm.Contact Gardaí if you notice anything suspicious

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