NYPD Works to Get a Handle on Car Thefts

by Mindy Cohn

With motor vehicle thefts rising across New York City, the NYPD is working to lessen the crimes through several avenues. 

Motor Vehicle thefts have risen by 350% since mid-2019 and 18% since last year. One reason behind the rise over the past year is the ease with which Kias and Hyundais can be hot-wired and driven away, as reported by BoroPark24 here. Owners of those cars have since been offered free steering wheel locks and a software patch, but only some have bothered to have it installed, considering that the NYPD says the thefts of those kinds of cars are still the reason car thefts are still rising across New York City.

A similar hack allows thieves to steal Hondas in under two minutes. 

In response to the astronomical rise in car thefts, the NYPD will launch a new unit with a detective squad that specifically handles car thefts.

In other efforts to stem the flood of car thefts, the NYPD has given out steering wheel locks to owners of the more vulnerable Kia, Hyundai, and Honda drivers.

Police also encourage New Yorkers to hide tracking devices in their cars, as reported by BoroPark24 here, as doing so will assist the police department in locating missing vehicles. More than 500 donated Apple AirTags were given out to the community by the police department in May with hopes of more to follow in the ongoing battle against vehicle thefts.