Car Thefts Up in the City

By Soyoung Kwak in News on Oct 17, 2010 3:00PM

Even though the overall number of car thefts in Chicago had been declining since 2004, Chicago Police report that car thefts have gone up 22 percent this year in comparison to last year's number around this time.

Additionally, Chicago police have also pinpointed the reason behind this sudden spike in car thefts:

Chicago Police Sgt. Phil Cappitelli said he's starting to investigate reports that tow truck operators are hooking cars and illegally transporting them to scrap metal yards where they're crushed for cash. But he believes the car-theft bubble this year is mostly tied to young thieves who were stealing older-model cars like early 1990s Hondas and Toyotas in the Grand Central Police District on the Northwest Side.

According to the Sun-Times article, most of the thefts occur in the Grand Central district, with the Chicago Lawn district coming in second and Englewood coming in third. To lessen the chances of someone stealing your own car, Cappitelli recommends that people park in well-lit places and to never leave keys in cars. While the number of vehicle thefts went up in Chicago, the violent crime rate for the city went down 11 percent, along with the number of property crimes.