At Bayou Auto, a New Orleans East tow lot fringed with tattered banana trees and patrolled by rescued pit bulls, operator Tamiqua Barton-Williams processed Thursday morning's paperwork: five pink NOPD vehicle impoundment forms for recovered stolen vehicles.
"I have Kia, Hyundai, Kia, Kia," she said, flipping through the papers. "In August, 50 to 60% of our tows were stolen vehicles. Now, it's 85 to 90%."
Auto thefts have climbed in New Orleans for at least six years. There were 3,150 vehicles stolen in 2016, a number that ballooned to 4,400 by 2021, according to New Orleans Police Department data. At first glance, it would appear 2022 was just a continuation of that upward trend: thieves made off with about 4,850 vehicles, roughly 10% more than the year before.
But 2022 was anything but normal when it came to car thefts across the country.
A viral crime trend
In July, videos went viral on social media showing that it was relatively simple to steal any Kia or Hyundai manufactured between 2010 and 2021 that used a physical key, rather than a key fob. While most modern vehicles have an immobilizer that will keep the car from starting without a proper key, those brands did not make that technology standard until last year. That meant that thieves could use a USB cable, or even just a screwdriver, to start the cars and take off.
Kias and Hyundais accounted for 1,189 of the vehicles stolen in New Orleans last year, nearly a quarter of the total. That’s nearly six times the number of those brands that are typically stolen. And almost all of them were taken in the last six months of the year, after the videos began circulating.
Put another way: there were 439 more vehicles taken in 2022 than in 2021. The number of additional Kia and Hyundai thefts logged by NOPD was so high that, had those cars been stolen at the same rate they were taken in prior years, the number of thefts in 2022 would actually have fallen by more than 270.
"Such a violation"
While the social media trend has been dubbed the Kia Challenge, in New Orleans, Hyundais were actually more likely to be taken.
Cynthia Cashman, a therapist who lives in the Carrollton area, said her 2017 Hyundai Elantra was stolen twice in 2022. Thieves snatched it from outside her home on May 16. Cashman says they committed crimes in the vehicle, then dumped it. A few days after the theft, police told her they'd found her vehicle and had it towed to a Dwyer Road yard.
"Inside, there was a brand-new box of shotgun bullets, golf gloves, used-up gift cards, blunts, and they trashed the inside of the car badly," she said. "When they get a credit card, they buy gift cards and use the gift cards right away, and that can't be traced."
ID cards also littered her car.
"We did find out those were victims," she said. "It feels like such a violation when you see what they're doing with your car, robbing other people. ... It just makes me feel sad."
The Police Department declined to speculate about the reasons behind the thefts. However, it appears thieves are more likely to dump Kias and Hyundais in places where they are later recovered than is the case for other types of vehicles. Roughly 56% of Kias and Hyundais taken since July have later been recovered, compared to about 44% of other vehicles.
Cashman recovered her car and cleaned it up, but a week later, it was stolen again, and this time, the thieves wrecked and totaled it. She found a hunting knife among the detritus.
"My (Hyundai) was almost paid for," she said. "Now I have a car note for the next five years. ... I just wish they would get a handle on this. It is ridiculous."
Bayou Auto owner Joey Greco's phone rings regularly as people call him looking for their cars in New Orleans on Friday, January 27, 2023. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Kaylie Battaglia, too, is dealing with expensive car repairs and hospital bills due to car thefts. At around 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 29, thieves driving a stolen 2021 Kia Sport crossed the St. Claude Avenue median near Gordon Street and smashed into her 2017 Ford Fusion with Battaglia, her husband, 3-year-old and 7-month-old inside.
"I heard my 3-year-old screaming, 'Mommy, Mommy!" she said. " And all I was worried about was getting them out."
None were seriously injured, but the car was totaled. The thieves fled the scene on foot.
"(My 3-year-old) knows what happened, which I hate," Battaglia said. "She likes to tell everybody that bad guys hit us and broke our car."
Police response
Asked about the uptick in auto thefts, NOPD responded with a statement that said police believe the viral videos have been “a major factor” in the increase.
There is one detective in each district that investigates property crimes such as vehicle thefts and burglaries, and additional officers with the Investigative Services Bureau can assist, according to NOPD.
Louisiana State Police confirmed they assist local law enforcement agencies in many car theft investigations. Their five-person auto theft team assisted NOPD with 282 stolen vehicle recoveries in 2022, and 25 auto theft arrests. As of Jan. 20, State Police had helped NOPD recover 22 stolen vehicles in New Orleans.
"Our biggest suggestion would be steering wheel locks," said State Police spokesperson Kate Stegall.
NOPD has given out anti-theft devices provided by Hyundai and is working with the manufacturers to obtain more, according to the statement. Hyundai made engine immobilizers standard on all vehicles as of November 2021, according to a statement by spokesperson Ira Gabriel. Meanwhile, class-action lawsuits alleging defective design that makes the vehicles easy to steal have been filed in several states.
State Farm and Progressive insurance companies have refused to issue new policies on some Kias and Hyundais in the St. Louis region as theft rates of those vehicles remain high following last year's surge, according to the Associated Press.
Bayou Auto owner Joey Greco looks at the stolen cars that were delivered to his lot in New Orleans on Friday, January 27, 2023. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Social media prevention tactics
One victim, who uses they/them pronouns, has taken to social media to turn the tables on thieves. After their Jeep Rubicon was stolen on Dec. 13, they created an Instagram page that helps anonymously connect car theft victims with found vehicles.
"It was kind of a pay-it-forward thing," said the victim, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want their identity linked to the Instagram page. "Someone helped me find mine through social media and I was like, 'I could probably help a lot of people find their cars.'"
In the first month of running StolenAutosNola, they helped 28 people recover their vehicles. The account has more than 6,800 followers, and they say running it has become a part-time job that consumes 20 to 30 hours of their time per week. Still, it's a job they are glad to take on.
"There's a culture here where people don't want to talk to the cops, but the stuff people will tell me is crazy," they said. "It's a community willing to cooperate with each other, but ... I think they think the police can't and won't protect them should any retaliation occur.
"You have a bunch of kids who are living in poverty, but then they're putting other people in poverty by doing this. It is really destroying the city."
"auto" - Google News
January 30, 2023 at 05:00PM
https://ift.tt/AWuIib3
Auto thefts surge in New Orleans; Kias, Hyundais responsible for uptick - NOLA.com
"auto" - Google News
https://ift.tt/Tqz8jOE
https://ift.tt/PD67zJp
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Auto thefts surge in New Orleans; Kias, Hyundais responsible for uptick - NOLA.com"
Post a Comment