CHARLOTTE, NC — Car thefts go up as the temperatures drop. But CMPD says those numbers are really spiking this year.
Many cases involve vehicles with the keys left inside; sometimes with the engine running. CMPD is planning some tough love for drivers, to try and curb the trend. Your car could be a target.
Thieves are extra busy right now, especially as the temperatures start to fall.
“We expect this to happen each year,” says Officer Chris Kopp with CMPD’s Crime Prevention Unit. “But one thing that we’ve noticed is: one, it’s happening earlier; and two, our numbers are even up from last year.”
53 cars stolen in the last week. That’s up 29 percent from the same week last year.113 auto thefts this month; up 30 percent.More than 1,600 this year; up 33 percent from 2014.
Officer Kopp says the problem is city-wide.
“Each division does have some hot spots,” says Kopp. “But if you take a step back and look city-wide, this is happening everywhere. That’s the scary thing. There’s no predetermined location that we can say vehicles are getting stolen in this area.”
Car thieves often target morning commuters who leave their cars running, and unattended, during colder weather; people who may not give a second thought to warming up the car for a few minutes.
CMPD says that unattended vehicle thefts are also on the rise. In West Charlotte Wednesday morning, a woman came outside on Englehardt Street, started her vehicle to warm it up, went back in to get some coffee. When she came back outside, the vehicle was gone.
An idling car can attract thieves for an easy score. It’s a costly mistake. Especially if your insurance company won’t cover the loss.
CMPD is enforcing an ordinance that penalizes those who leave a vehicle unattended; trying to keep people from becoming victims.
“There’s a city ordinance that says you cannot leave your vehicle running and not be in it,” says Kopp. “So what we’re going to be doing is, an officer is going to be going out and proactively writing tickets for this city ordinance violation. It’s a $50 ticket, but sometimes it’s a $50 lesson.”
The unattended vehicle ordinance does not apply to vehicles in a driveway at a private residence. But does apply to apartment complex parking, or any private parking lot where the general public is invited.
