More than 1 million motor vehicles were stolen in 2022, with more than 250,000 reported to law enforcement during the fourth quarter alone. Historically, passenger cars made up approximately 74% of all stolen motor vehicles. In fact, a motor vehicle is stolen every 32 seconds in the United States.
There have been an increase in motor vehicle thefts in the Village and surrounding communities. Thieves are becoming more technologically advanced in their methods of stealing vehicles.
Criminals can now steal your vehicle with a device called a re-programmer. What this device does, is it plugs into a vehicles computer system which enables criminals to start the car using a fake key. Locking vehicles is a deterrent, however additional measures could be useful as these thieves can easily break windows to gain access to your vehicle.