GARDEN CITY, NY (November 27, 2020) Folks relaxing at home during the Thanksgiving weekend should keep a close eye on their cars parked outside. Lots more vehicles have been stolen during 2020 in NYC and on Long Island compared to a year ago. From January 1st to November 22nd this year, 8,030 vehicles were stolen in New York City, a 66 percent increase from the 4,830 purloined in that period in 2019, according to CompStat data. This reverses a downward trend from the previous five years. Manhattan saw a 98 percent theft increase, from 612 last year to 1,213 in 2020, the highest percentage borough increase year over year. Brooklyn was the loss leader in the sheer number of vehicles stolen with 2,512, a 59 percent increase compared to 1,577 in 2019. Motorcycles made up 17 percent of the stolen vehicle total in NYC with 1,373. Large trucks were not immune from theft with 86 going missing in the five boroughs.
On Long Island, available data from the Suffolk and Nassau Police Departments show a 34 percent and 22 percent increase in vehicle thefts, respectively. The Suffolk PD reported 786 vehicles stolen between January 1 and September 30 this year, compared to 588 during the same period last year. In the same nine-month time frame, the Nassau PD reported 433 stolen vehicles this year, compared to 356 in 2019. Many Long Island towns and villages have their own police departments without publicly available data.
In a bad economy, many may be turning to the relatively easy crime of vehicle theft to pay the bills, support drug habits or just for the thrill. “This year has seen a major increase in stolen vehicles,” said Robert Sinclair, Jr., senior manager, public affairs for AAA Northeast. “Passive immobilizer anti-theft technology, available on new vehicles for a decade or more, was thought to be an effective deterrent,” Sinclair said. “But this technology seems to be making it relatively easy for vehicles to be stolen by creative thieves.”
Late model keyless entry systems use fobs that send radio signals to vehicles, which respond by unlocking their doors and allowing engine startup. Drivers usually leave their fobs near the front doors of their homes. Thieves work in tandem, one equipped with a receiver that picks up the fob’s signal, then relays it to another thief with a receiver near the vehicle to gain entry.
The best advice to prevent theft of newer keyless entry vehicles is to keep the fobs as far away from the vehicle as possible. Putting the fob in a metal box to block the signal is also strongly suggested. Many thefts occur when drivers leave their keys or fob in their car. Locking the vehicle and taking the key/fob may be an elementary, but necessary recommendation.