We don't have any figures for dash cam theft. However, on a purely anecdotal note, we've tested around 35 dash cameras over the last few years, and I (nor the 5 other members of the team) have ever had one stolen despite leaving them in the car overnight. Leaving a dash cam overnight in a car is a personal choice that some drivers make in order to capture potential vandalism or attempted theft on film. It also automatically saves these Parking Mode videos, so if you park on road and someone bumps your car and doesn't leave a note then you might catch their reg plate and be able to claim and file a police report with their details - for example. It really depends on where you live, where you park etc.

As for the night mode/parking mode - it really depends on the camera. Nextbase, for example, is a huge dash cam brand in the UK and its dash cams are of great quality. For example, in Intelligent Parking Mode, the Nextbase 622GW can use its internal battery to detect any knock to your car for more than a week, according to Nextbase, so you don’t need to drain the car's battery or hardwire the dash camera to use this function. On cheaper and/or older dash cams, I'd be inclined to get the unit hardwired to prevent car battery drain - though you should be able to find these details before you put any money down on a dash camera.