Car thefts in New York City have increased by an alarming 191% compared to pre-COVID (2019) levels, according to data collected by the New York Police Department and revealed in the closing of the year 2023.
In 2023, a total of 15,802 vehicle thefts in the five boroughsshowing a marked increase compared to 5,438 in 2019 and 15% more than in 2022, where 13,741 cases were recorded, as reported by The New York Post.
Last year, car thefts were the category of felonies with the highest increase in the city, even though overall crime decreased slightly by 0.3% compared to the previous year. However, crime rates have seen an increase of more than 31% compared to 2019, according to statistics from the NYPD.
Kia and Hyundai are the most sought after models, according to Mike Lipetri, head of Control Strategies Crime of the New York police, who attributes this phenomenon to a TikTok viral challenge last year that encouraged teenagers to steal vehicles of these brands for rides.
He NYPD had warned about this “dangerous” trend after social media-inspired thieves made off with a police cruiser during a 12-hour excursion. “We have seen an increase of more than 300% in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles, with more than 2,100 cases reported”Lipetri emphasized.
The places most affected by these robberies were The Bronx and Queens, according to Lipetri, highlighting that many of these robberies occurred blatantly on the streets. Additionally, vehicle recovery outside of New York City, in places such as New Jersey and Westchester, was analyzed.
Mayor Eric Adams reported that the crackdown on car thefts has led to almost 2,000 arrests in 2023the highest figure in two decades.
Some of these cases have culminated in most serious crimes. For example, in November, a 43-year-old man was struck and killed while trying to stop the theft of his car in broad daylight in Queens. In April, a Department of Sanitation (DSNY) employee shot a teenager who tried to steal his vehicle in the Bronx.
According to previous statistics of the NYPDcar theft was already among the crimes that have increased the most in the city since the start of the pandemic.
2024-01-18 00:08:00
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