# Car theft in Belgrade: where and how cars are stolen _Updated: 8 November 2026_ **Short answer:** In Belgrade most cars are stolen in Novi Beograd, Voždovac, Zvezdara and Palilula. Thieves most often drive off in a car with the key inside and the engine running, outside a bakery, kiosk, pharmacy or school, and they open and start other cars with devices. > **The service we recommend: Car alarms** An alarm with a siren, and more expensive models add an app and GPS. We tell you the price when you tell us the model. [More about the service](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/services/car-alarm-installation) ## Most thefts happen in Novi Beograd, Voždovac and Zvezdara Novi Beograd comes first by number of thefts in the Ministry of the Interior figures for 2020, 2022 and 2023. After it most often come Voždovac, Zvezdara, Palilula, Čukarica, Rakovica and Zemun. In the suburban municipalities cars are stolen from yards. The owner leaves the key in the car overnight, and the thief searches the car, finds the key and drives it away. Thefts also happen outside apartment buildings, when the car is left running and unlocked to warm up in winter or cool down in summer. ## Where thieves wait for a chance Thieves go round places where the driver steps out briefly and leaves the engine running. A car disappears even when the driver steps out for ten seconds or so. - **Bakeries, kiosks, fast food places, pharmacies, schools and nurseries:** The driver steps out briefly, and the key stays in the ignition with the engine running. - **Shopping centres and bus stops with shops:** Thieves hang around there, because they know someone will step out of a running car. - **Food delivery cars:** The driver leaves the key in the ignition while taking the order to the door. - **Big car parks: Ada Ciganlija, swimming pools, the Arena during matches, shopping centres and hypermarkets:** While you lock the car with the remote, the thief cuts off the signal with a jammer. The car stays unlocked, and the thief takes things from it. A jammer works from 100 metres away: you press the button and walk off, and the car stays unlocked. After locking with the remote, pull the door handle. An alarm that alerts your phone has its own app. In it you see whether the car was left unlocked and can lock it from your phone. When the alarm is on, the siren sounds as soon as someone opens a door. [More about alarm installation](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/services/car-alarm-installation) ## More and more cars go with the key inside In 2022 more than a third of the cars stolen in Belgrade were driven away with the key in the ignition. In 2023 it was more than half, and in the first half of 2024 3 in 4. Such a thief often does not plan the theft. He happens to be there, sees a running car with no driver, gets in and leaves. He does not have to break the lock or get past any protection. Comprehensive insurance can refuse to pay for such a theft, because the key was left in the car. [More about comprehensive insurance and theft](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/comprehensive-insurance-car-theft) An immobiliser lets the engine start only when its small fob, which you carry in your pocket, is in the car. When you carry the fob separately from the key, a thief cannot start a switched-off engine even with the key left in the car. A car with the engine running the thief drives off even with an immobiliser, so always switch the engine off. [More about the immobiliser](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/services/immobiliser) An alarm with an engine block that does not disarm without the fob does the same: the engine will not start even for a thief who found your key. ## A car without the key the thief opens and starts with devices When there is no key, the thief has to get past the lock and the electronics of the car. For that he uses devices. He records the remote signal with a scanner. With a keyless key, which opens and starts the car without being taken out of your pocket, he relays the key signal to the car. Or he makes a new key through the OBD port, the place under the steering wheel where diagnostics plug in. [More about the ways cars are stolen](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/how-cars-are-stolen-in-serbia) An alarm with an engine block and a fob, and an immobiliser, protect against these devices. The engine will not start without the fob, neither when a thief unlocks the car with your key's signal nor when he makes a new key. Thieves also follow cars in traffic. They lightly bump into the car, as if it were a small accident. The driver gets out to look at the damage, and a second thief gets behind the wheel and leaves. If the bump seems deliberate, stay in the car and lock the doors. ## Headlights, mirrors and catalytic converters get stolen too In Belgrade car parts get stolen too, most often headlights, mirrors and catalytic converters. To take them off, the thief has to work on the car. The alarm senses when someone works on the car. A hard knock sounds the siren. The alarm also senses when someone moves or lifts the car, on some alarms with a separate tilt sensor. An alarm that alerts your phone sends you a message or calls you as soon as it goes off. [More about alarm installation](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/services/car-alarm-installation) If in the morning you find the car without headlights or mirrors, call the police on 192, then the insurer. ## Only one in three cars stolen without the key is found **Whether the car is found depends on how it was stolen** - **Stolen without the key:** in 2022 the police in Belgrade found only one in three. - **Stolen with the key:** almost 4 in 5 were found, because the owner reports such a theft at once, so the police can react in time. - **Overall:** in 2022 one in two, and in 2023 about 7 in 10. When you park the car in the afternoon and notice the theft only in the morning, the thief has a whole night’s head start. When the alarm alerts your phone that someone is opening or moving the car, report the theft straight away, not the next morning. GPS also shows where the car is, so you tell the police where to look. [More about GPS tracking](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/services/gps-vehicle-tracking) ## What the Belgrade police advise - Switch off the engine and take the key even when you step out for ten seconds. - Lock the car as soon as you leave it, even for a few minutes. - After locking with the remote, pull the door handle and check that the doors are locked. - Do not leave valuables in the car. - Do not leave the key in the car, not even overnight in the yard. - Protect the car with mechanical protection, such as a steering wheel or gearstick lock, or electronic protection, such as an alarm and an immobiliser. The police add that any protection is better than none. [More about habits against theft](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/habits-against-car-theft) ## Frequently asked questions ### Which cars are stolen most in Belgrade? In 2022 thieves in Belgrade most often stole Volkswagen, Renault, Audi and BMW. Fiat, Zastava and Škoda were also targets. [More about the most stolen cars](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/most-stolen-cars-serbia) ### Can a thief steal a car with a jammer? Yes. With a jammer the thief gets into an unlocked car, and inside he also gets to the OBD port under the steering wheel, through which he can make a new key. In Belgrade thieves mostly use a jammer to take things from the car. An immobiliser does not let the engine start even when the thief gets into an unlocked car. [More about theft through the OBD port](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/obd-car-theft) ### What should I do if my car is stolen? First check that the car was not towed away: in Belgrade call Parking servis on 11-0-11 and give the registration number. If it was not, call the police on 192 straight away, then tell your insurer, because some insurers require notice within 24 hours. The sooner you report the theft, the better the chance the car is found. [More about what to do when your car is stolen](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/car-stolen-what-to-do) Have a question about your car? Message us on WhatsApp or call 067 774 1606. ## Read also - [Car theft in Serbia: 9 ways thieves steal a car](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/how-cars-are-stolen-in-serbia) - [OBD car theft: how thieves make a new key](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/obd-car-theft) - [Keyless theft (relay attack): how it works, how to stop it](https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/keyless-car-theft) --- Page on the website: https://autoindustrija.rs/en/advice/car-theft-belgrade auto-industrija, Belgrade. Phone and WhatsApp: +381677741606. E-mail: kontakt@autoindustrija.rs.