With holiday cheer in the air, many people find themselves spending hours shopping, going on family outings or enjoying a movie date. Vehicles are left unattended for hours, which increases the chances of them being stolen.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like we\u2019re shopping in the store for Christmas, they\u2019re shopping our vehicles,\u201d Detective Brandon Erb with the Dallas County sheriff\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n
Dallas police and deputies say automobile thefts have decreased in the city over the last few years, but the risk remains. Leaving a vehicle with valuables inside alone for long periods, such as during the holidays, can make it a target. <\/p>\n
In 2023, Dallas saw about a 40% increase in car thefts compared with the previous year, said Deputy Police Chief William Griffith. But, he said, the number has been steadily dropping.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne year later, during that same time in 2024 we were down 22% than the previous year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Officials attribute the decrease in thefts to the work done by the Dallas police and North Texas auto theft task force teams, the usage of artificial intelligence-powered Flock cameras and teaching residents how best to prevent their vehicles from being stolen.<\/p>\n
Police and deputies with the North Texas auto theft task force work together to take down auto theft rings, locate suspects who have sold stolen vehicles to unaware buyers, connect stolen vehicles to other crimes they may be used in and more.<\/p>\n
Dallas County deputies with the North Texas task force have a combined seven full-time detectives, as well as part-timers, who investigate thefts in Dallas County and across North Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe basically assist a lot of different agencies that don\u2019t have the manpower to reserve people toward auto theft and assist them with their investigations,\u201d Erb said.<\/p>\n
Griffith said police use Flock cameras to locate the vehicles or the people who may have taken them.<\/p>\n
He said police have access to hundreds of Flock cameras, which are license plate readers, across the city used to identify suspects and stolen vehicles.<\/p>\n
During the holiday season, people aren\u2019t just going to stores to make purchases. Some might consider buying vehicles online. A trend deputies are seeing is vehicles being stolen, the VIN numbers switched and the vehicles being sold online to unaware buyers, detective John Robinson with the task force said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of innocent purchases bought off Facebook Marketplace,\u201d Robinson said, \u201cthey\u2019ll have the information on the seller, but nine times out of 10, we\u2019re seeing the sellers producing a fake ID, with a fake name, fake address and the information we get like the phone number, by the time we get it, they\u2019ve already shut the account down.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the price of a vehicle online seems too good to be true, it more than likely is, Robinson said.<\/p>\n
He suggested having a law enforcement officer tag along during the purchase or to take the seller to the tax office beforehand to confirm the vehicle is theirs when buying off social media or Facebook Marketplace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tax office is going to know right away,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if it\u2019s fraudulent there, they\u2019re going to let somebody know, and they\u2019re going to call us immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few other red flags deputies said to look out for when purchasing vehicles off social media include:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very rare that people are stalking driveways to steal cars, Erb said. It\u2019s usually hotels, stores, concerts, movie theaters and restaurants that are targeted, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey love those because you got at least 90 minutes that these people are going to be away from their car,\u201d Erb said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s essential to lock the vehicle doors and put everything below the windows because if not, it could attract unwanted attention, Griffith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMake sure you get everything out of your car, or don\u2019t leave it visible, especially during the holidays, because that\u2019s when people are more susceptible to be victims of theft,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For vehicles that use key fobs, deputies also suggest buying extra security, as car thieves can reprogram the vehicle to start without the owner\u2019s key. Using additional security measures, such as alarms and steering wheel locks, can slow thieves down and deter them from stealing the vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing about theft is it\u2019s a crime of opportunity,\u201d Erb said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing that you can do that\u2019s going to be 100% safe proof that\u2019s going to keep these guys out. They know what they\u2019re doing. They can get into anything, and they can start anything. All you can do as a civilian is just to make it as difficult as possible so they move on to the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the holiday season approaches, it\u2019s crucial to take extra precautions to protect your vehicle from theft. By being aware of the risks and taking steps to prevent theft, you can help ensure a safe and enjoyable holiday season.<\/p>\n
Here are some frequently asked questions about protecting your vehicle from theft:<\/p>\n
Q: What can I do to prevent my car from being stolen?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Always lock your vehicle doors, keep valuables out of sight, and consider investing in additional security measures such as alarms and steering wheel locks.<\/p>\n Q: What are the most common types of vehicles stolen?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: GMC trucks, Cadillac, and Chevrolet vehicles tend to be taken the most.<\/p>\n Q: How can I avoid buying a stolen vehicle online?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Be cautious of vehicles priced significantly lower than market value, and consider having a law enforcement officer present during the purchase or taking the seller to the tax office to confirm the vehicle\u2019s ownership.<\/p>\n Q: What should I do if I suspect my vehicle has been stolen?<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Contact the police immediately and report the theft. Provide as much information as possible, including the vehicle\u2019s make, model, and VIN number.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Protecting Your Vehicle from Theft During the Holiday Season With holiday cheer in the air, many people find themselves spending hours shopping, going on family outings or enjoying a movie date. Vehicles are left unattended for hours, which increases the chances of them being stolen. \u201cJust like we\u2019re shopping in the store for Christmas, they\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":19519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19517","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-reports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/3E7X25WDOZHIFEFX2ULM4PIVGU.jpg?auth=6bbb562f00b5fbfb6aeb1478bf99ce440a7674f82daa15bf1e29cb4384529d1c&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&smart=true","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19520,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19517\/revisions\/19520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}