Car Thefts Are Skyrocketing
Police blame targeting of Kias, Hyundais for a motor-vehicle-theft increase in major cities Kia vehicles have been a frequent target for car thieves. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images By Zusha Elinson Updated July 20, 2023 8:56 am ET Auto theft is skyrocketing, while violent crime that gripped the nation during the pandemic is receding, according to a new report that includes data from 37 large U.S. cities in the first six months of the year. Motor vehicle thefts rose 33.5% in 32 of those cities during the first six months of the year from the same period last year, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank. Some police officials said two brands in particular are inviting targets for thieves and account for much of the rise. “The year-to-year increase is
Kia vehicles have been a frequent target for car thieves.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Auto theft is skyrocketing, while violent crime that gripped the nation during the pandemic is receding, according to a new report that includes data from 37 large U.S. cities in the first six months of the year.
Motor vehicle thefts rose 33.5% in 32 of those cities during the first six months of the year from the same period last year, according to the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank.
Some police officials said two brands in particular are inviting targets for thieves and account for much of the rise.
“The year-to-year increase is due to the fact of how easy the Kias and Hyundais are to steal,” said Sgt. Garrett Parten of the Minneapolis Police Department, where motor vehicle theft is up 68% this year. Parten said that thefts of all other makes of automobiles have remained relatively flat.
Owners reported a surge in thefts after social-media videos spread showing thieves how to steal Kia and Hyundai cars using a screwdriver and a USB charger. The car companies agreed to pay owners $200 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over the issue in May.
Hyundai spokesman Ira Gabriel said that the company is working on several fronts to prevent theft, including installing antitheft software at dealerships. A spokesman for Kia didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist who co-wrote the report, said that the Hyundai and Kia issues are likely a factor, but other factors likely contributed given the size and duration of the increase.
Most other types of crime are down this year, including homicides, which dropped by 9.4% during the first six months of the year in 30 of the cities, according to the report.
Killings are down 22% in Los Angeles, 11% in New York City and 7% in Chicago so far this year.
In Raleigh, N.C., Police Chief Estella Patterson credited officers focusing on historic problem spots as one of the biggest factors in a 54% homicide decrease so far this year.
Criminologists say conditions that drove the violence up in 2020 and 2021, such as a rise in domestic disputes and a pause in gang-violence prevention programs during the pandemic, as well as a pullback in police enforcement after racial-justice protests over the murder of George Floyd, are reversing.
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But even with the drop, homicides were still 24% higher than in the first six months of 2019, before the pandemic.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation isn’t expected to release national crime figures for 2022 until later this year. Murders rose 4% in 2021 after increasing nearly 30% in 2020, according to the agency’s most recent data.
Last year, the number of killings dropped 5% in 70 of the largest U.S. cities from 2021, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which represents police chiefs from large cities.
Write to Zusha Elinson at [email protected]
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