Major Texas City Sees Auto Theft Soar 40 Percent
Cities around Texas are dealing with different increases in crime. Some are seeing increases in different crimes such has burglaries, property crimes, and even shootings. The City of Austin is seeing a huge increase in vehicle thefts, according to KXAN.
KXAN reports that the auto thefts aren't just in one part of Austin, but all over the city. If you enjoy traveling to Downtown Austin, that's one area that has seen a huge increase:
...southeast Austin, thefts are up 39%. Downtown has seen the highest spike — 85%. Thefts are still up in central and northwest Austin, but not as much, at 18%.
“The vast majority of vehicles are stolen, either left running to run inside a building for a short period of time. And it can happen in a blink of an eye,” said Austin Police Auto Theft Unit Detective Francisco Jimenez.
Jimenez added recently they’ve seen a spike in thieves stealing rental cars.
“Like the virtual ones as far as like it could be like Avail Car Sharing and Turo, just those type of vehicle rental methods because a lot of those vehicles are rented virtually. A lot of our big offenders who steal cars commit a lot of fraud,” he said.
With many people traveling over the next few months and Austin being one of those cities that people like to travel to, it's going to be important for locals and travelers to pay attention to what is going on around them. Also, be smart about things. Whether you're in Austin, Dallas or Lubbock, don't just leave your car running with the keys in it. And don't leave you keys in the vehicle while filling up with gas.
Be smart about things and watch your surroundings.