It’s relatively rare for a car to be stolen in Dubai. Usually someone steals a car only when driver has left it unlocked with keys in ignition (sometimes with motor running – especially in summer to keep it cool while going in to shop, bank etc). Police figures were 115 cars stolen in this way in 2006, up to 150 cars in 2007, prompting them to issue a 300 dh fine to people who leave their cars running while unattended (about 2000 got hit by a fine in 2007, unknown if this includes the 150 who had their car stolen). Police claim to have a good recovery rate for stolen vehicles.
Update 24 May 2010 (Gulf News report): As of May 2010, 9 cars with engines left running were stolen, of which 5 were recovered. In 2009, 64 cars with engines running were stolen and all were recovered. In 2008, 40 cars with engines running were stolen and 35 were recovered.
Belongings are usually safe if locked in a car although you do occasionally hear of cars being broken in to – more than likely because computer or phone or money was visible. It seems as though this is on the increase during 2006 (or perhaps it’s just being reported more) with, for example, a story in Aug/Sep 2006 of car windows being broken and items taken from gloveboxes while owners were attending a church service. Another report of a resident in Jumeirah finding his car blocked and the wheels taken in October 2006 was something new for Dubai.
In Sharjah in 2009, there were 176 complaints about theft from cars according to a Gulf News report 03 May 2010 of comments by a Sharjah CID official.
Update September 2011 – there have been news reports of car windows being smashed and belongings stolen from parked vehicles in Abu Dhabi.
There was a report in the Gulf Today 08 September 2011 about thieves in Dubai luring people into cars, then driving to a remote area and robbing them. The report did not say how the thieves managed to get their victims into cars in the first place.
Petrol stations are a spot where thefts sometimes happen since many people leave their cars unlocked/running while filling up and/or going into petrol station shop.
There doesn’t appear to be any or much in the way of organised car theft of expensive cars for re-export/conversion/selling as spare parts (as happens in the UK/US/Europe). Thus another reason for making Dubai an attractive place in which to indulge yourself and buy that posh car you’d never own in your home country.
Cars do sometimes get stolen when sold – the buyer gives the seller a personal cheque that bounces. A bank check should be safe.
Stealing a car is far more likely to land you in jail followed by deportation than having a limb chopped off (despite common foreign perception of the punishment for theft in Dubai).
