Thefts from cars spiked
Vehicle security systems get more advanced every day, and car thieves are no slouches, but experts agree the best way to avoid becoming an auto theft statistic remains in the car owner’s hands.
“Most street-level theft is based on opportunity,” Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports managing editor for autos, said. “People break the window, steal whatever’s inside.”
Technically sophisticated professional car thieves armed with devices that can defeat modern electronic key fobs, sensors and alarms, and drive away with cars, are rare.
But thefts from vehicles remain frequent. Whether it’s a smash-and-grab of something you recently purchased that is visible through a window or the theft of an easily fenced part – air bags and catalytic converters are expensive favorites — those more common crimes contribute to an increase in crime statistics, even though the vehicles themselves were not stolen.
Thefts from vehicles spiked in 2020, the last year for which statistics are available. They increased 9.2% to 873,080, the highest total in more than a decade.
“The majority of cars broken into or stolen are left unlocked or parked in dark, isolated places,” said Michigan State Police 1st Lt. Michael Shaw.
That’s not to say modern electronic safeguards are foolproof. They can be defeated, but it requires sophisticated tools not available to a joy-riding kid.