Detroit might be home to the Big Three, but there’s plenty of Hyundai and Kia vehicles in the Motor City. This is causing problems as the lack of engine immobilizers in some models has contributed to a significant increase in car thefts.
While they’re not the only city dealing with this problem, CBS Detroit cites police as saying there have been approximately 500 more auto thefts compared to this time last year. That’s an increase of roughly 30% and Detroit Deputy Chief of Police, Franklin Hayes, put some of the blame on social media and how crime can “go viral relatively easy.”
The increase is especially troubling since 9,761 vehicles were stolen last year in Detroit. That was a 45% jump from 2021 and officials are eager to stop that trend.
More: Attorney Generals From 23 States Call On Hyundai And Kia To Do More About Theft Threat
However, that’s easier said than done and the department wants approximately $5 million (£4.1 / €4.6) to purchase 100 new license plate readers. These help to identify stolen vehicles and the department already has around 80 deployed in “parts of the city where car thefts are most prevalent.”
The additional cameras would expand the coverage area and Hayes told the station, “If a [stolen] vehicle … drives past one of these cameras, it gives us an alert.” This occurs in real-time, which gives police a chance to catch the suspects and recover the vehicle.
The Detroit City Council is expected to vote on the proposal next month, but auto thefts are a problem plaguing a number of major cities. Earlier this year, the Council on Criminal Justice released a report saying car thefts increased an average of 59% in 30 major cities, between 2019 and 2022. In eight of the cities studied, vehicle thefts more than doubled.
