Houston Police Department investigators were at a conference to learn and share information about the trends in auto theft on Thursday. It is a big problem for Houstonians.
In 2019, there were about 13,600 cars reported stolen. Fast forward to the last 12 months, the number of stolen cars spiked to around 17,300. That is an average of 334 stolen cars every week.
"People don't realize it's never going away," Sgt. Tracy Hicks said.
Hicks has worked in the department's auto theft division for more than 16 years and said the numbers do not surprise him. He believes the increase in auto theft is linked to the increase in violent crime.
"Auto thefts kind of get pushed to the back, as far as the seriousness of it, but it is very serious," Sgt. Hicks said. "We can prevent or make cars less stealable (sic), so then are we, in fact, helping out with the other major crimes that happen using a stolen car?"
The top five areas for car theft over the last 12 months tend to have large shopping areas, large parking lots, or border the airports.
Here are numbers of reported car thefts for the top five areas targeted for auto theft over last 12 months:
-Almeda Mall, Southridge, Edgebrook, South Houston Gardens - 520
-Northwest Mall, Brookhollow, White Oak Acres, Oak Forest, Langwood - 412
-Southwest Memorial Hospital, Burnett Bayland Park, Westmoreland - 399
-NRG Park, Plaza del Oro - 381
-Fourth Ward, Avondale - 369
Crime Tracker also reveals where the number of reported auto thefts are increasing the most over the last 12 months. Two areas saw an increase of around 300% compared to 2019.
-Galleria, Post Oak, Tanglewood, Riverway - 344
-Cherryhurst, Mandell Place, Montrose - 201
Sgt. Hicks said people also need to be aware of the type of vehicles thieves are targeting.
"I tell people, if you have a 2017 or newer Chevy vehicle or GMC vehicle, you have to do something extra."
Regardless of what you drive, he advised against flashy upgrades and suggested using alarm systems and trackers.
"We have to harden our targets. Each neighborhood... When crooks come into a neighborhood, if they don't make any money there, they aren't going to go there," Hicks said.
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