Auto thefts surge 18% since this time last year prompting crackdown — not even NYPD vehicles are safeBy Tina Moore
July 29, 2023
Not even the NYPD’s own cars are safe from the auto-theft explosion in the city.
So far this year there have been 8,627 auto thefts compared to 7,319 in the same period in 2022, an 18% surge, even as other serious crimes have ticked down, NYPD data show.
The picture is even more dire when considering car thefts have skyrocketed 150% from 2018, when there were 5,428 vehicle thefts, to 2022 when there were 13,750.
Thieves even targeted an unmarked NYPD car Monday in Queens, police sources said.
The department Ford Edge, which was driven by a police boss, was stolen in the 100th Precinct after the key fob was left inside, police said.
The thief was “door surfing,” one source said, looking for open doors and keys left inside vehicles.
It was recovered several hours later after pinging on a license-plate reader in the Rockaways, cops said.
The Edge was at least the second police car stolen this year.
Four carjackers boosted a black undercover KIA from outside the 45 Precinct’s Detective Bureau in the Bronx on Jan. 24 before crashing it 12 hours later.
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Source:
https://nypost.com/2023/07/29/auto-theft-continues-to-rise-as-city-executes-new-plan/
