NYC car theft numbers going down a bad road

Car theft in New York City is going a bad way.

Car thefts are up 25 percent so far this year, with 4,473 thefts reported as of July 4, compared to the same period in 2020 when there were 3,580, NYPD data shows.

Thieves appear to be thriving in the Bronx, where 1,294 vehicles have been added to date in 2021, compared to 843 in 2020, a 54 percent increase.

In Brooklyn, 1,262 vehicles were lifted this year, compared to 1,123 in 2020, an increase of 12 percent, and in Queens in 2021, 1,139 vehicles were stolen, compared to 1,045 the previous year, an increase of 9 percent.

684 cars were caught in Manhattan, with the problem apparently centered in the Midtown North Precinct, which spans Midtown and spans blocks south of Central Park. 426 vehicles were caught here this year, compared to 260 in 2020, an increase of 64 percent.

Looking for security? Park on Staten Island, where car thefts are down 14 percent this year – 94 – compared to last year – 109, the data shows.

On July 2, police foiled a wacky car thief in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, who sped off with a two-year-old in the rear. The child was missing for over an hour after the harrowing incident at 3:40 p.m. and was found unharmed near Brooklyn Bridge Park, where the suspect was arrested.

Car theft has gotten so bad in town that some police officers directed people to a throwback security device from the ’80s – The Club – to secure their ride as 2020 came to an end.

An NYPD official investigates a stolen car in Brooklyn on May 23, 2021.GNMiller / NYPost

The NYPD said car thefts increase in the summer as people travel more. In the past, the ministry has blamed the state’s revision of bail reform and coronavirus lockdown in part for the surge – with encouraging car thieves as city dwellers didn’t move their vehicles as often.

Thefts are common when keys or key fobs are left in cars or when drivers leave their journeys unattended with the engine running, the NYPD said.

1,859 of 4,473 thefts reported this year – 42 percent – related to keys left in a car, the department said. Another 985 – or 22 percent – were motorcycle / scooter theft.

Last year the department found that the NYPD was seeing a “younger demographic” – more thieves under the age of 18. Honda’s newer models were “by far” the apple of a car thief’s eye, followed by Toyotas, police officers said.

Police at the scene of a car accident involving a stolen car in the Bronx on January 4, 2021.Robert Mecea for NY Post

This year, the five best cars are in the crosshairs in order: Ford Econoline, Honda Accord, Honda CRV, Toyota Camry and Honda Civic, the NYPD announced.

Gotham recorded an average of 639 car thefts on any given day of the week that year, statistics show. Thieves stepped on the gas Thursday when 683 vehicles were reported stolen. Their gas tank is lowest on Saturdays, when the fewest vehicles – 587 – have been stolen, according to the data.

“Just wait for New York City residents to see their next auto insurance bill,” snarled Joseph Giacalone, associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and former NYPD sergeant who said auto theft had been “off the charts for over two years “. Years.

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/nyc-car-theft-numbers-going-down-a-bad-road/