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.
Police believed the theft was inspired by a TikTok challenge — which has been viewed millions of times on the social media site — where thieves use a USB cord to bypass the ignition through the steering wheel column.
The department is poised to announce a new auto-theft enforcement plan this week, police sources said.
The plan will begin as a test in the Bronx and North Queens, where the thefts are the worst.
The NYPD plans to install about 40 detectives into its auto crime unit, police sources said.
The “white-shield” investigators — cops who have been given a bump up to the rank of detective — will interview victims and canvas for video.
If they are able to build cases, full-fledged detectives will pick them up and run with them, the sources said.
The jump in car thefts in the city is “crazy,” said recently retired NYPD Detective Thomas Burke, who worked in Auto Crime for more than 30 years.
He said he believes auto theft continues to increase because it has a higher return rate and lower downside than other crimes.
“If you get caught with a stolen car, you’re getting a desk appearance ticket,” Burke said.
“If you get caught with a kilo of cocaine, you’re going to do some time. If I’m a thinking criminal, I’m looking at the type of crime where I can make the most money and get the least amount of punishment if I get caught.”
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July 30, 2023 at 02:17AM
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Auto thefts surge 18% since this time last year prompting crackdown -- not even NYPD vehicles are safe - New York Post
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