Kortrijk (Brussels Morning Newspaper): Over the weekend of October 19-20, 2024, Kortrijk experienced ten burglaries and car thefts, primarily targeting parked vehicles. Stolen items included cash, laptops, and keys. Police advise residents to lock their cars and hide valuables. They review camera footage to identify suspects and encourage reporting incidents to VLAS police at 1701.

Over the weekend of October 19 to 20, there were several burglaries and car thefts in Kortrijk, with police noting ten cases. People living in the city center and on the outskirts found their cars had been broken into. Many noticed personal items missing when they checked their vehicles on Sunday morning.

How can Kortrijk residents protect themselves from recent car thefts?

The stolen items included cash, perfume, bank cards, keys, laptops, sunglasses, regular glasses, and cigarettes. The thieves were targeting cars parked overnight, looking for valuables left inside. The police have not shared more information about suspects or leads but warning residents to stay alert and not leave valuables in their cars, especially overnight.

In Kortrijk, the thieves began their robberies by trying the door handles of parked cars, which is called “handle pulling,” according to the police. If they found an unlocked car, they would search inside and take small valuables. If they saw something valuable in a locked car, they would break a side window to get in and steal it.

Police are worried that people are not locking their cars and are leaving valuables in plain sight. They remind everyone to always lock their cars, whether during the day or at night, and to hide valuables in the trunk or take them inside. The police are trying to find the thieves by looking at camera footage from the area. Anyone who had their car broken into recently can report it to the VLAS police by calling 1701.