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Car burglaries increase during holidays
Two vehicles are stolen every minute nationwide and unfortunately that statistic may be more during the holiday season. FOX 7 Austin CrimeWatch reporter Meredith Aldis spoke to the Kyle police chief about the trend.
KYLE, Texas - Nationwide, two vehicles are stolen every minute. Car burglaries increase during the holidays, which is how many criminals are able to find a set of keys to steal a vehicle.
It’s a crime of opportunity and criminals are trying to make quick money off people’s valuables.
The Kyle police chief’s message is lock your car door and remove your valuables because teenagers, as young as 13, are looking to steal things.
"Most of the time, I would say 90% plus are unlocked vehicles," Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said.
Chief Barnett said teens take advantage of unlocked vehicles.
"They're usually in a stolen car when they come into Kyle or any of the other surrounding communities," Chief Barnett said.
He said they’re then busy between 10 p.m. to around 6:00 a.m. pulling door handles.
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Car thefts on the rise in Austin
As auto thefts rise in the area, the Austin Police Department is offering tips to help people keep vehicles from being stolen
"Even if they break into 20 cars in a night, which they're definitely susceptible to doing, if they're lucky 2 or 3 times in that night, they're generally drawing in thousands of dollars worth of stolen goods," Chief Barnett said.
He said sometimes, they get away with a car, too.
"Occasionally, one husband or wife has their spouse’s backup key in their car, so when they see the car key in the dash or glovebox or wherever, and they hit the unlock, then it unlocks the spouse's car, and they go, okay, we got the key, so they steal that second car because key number one is in there," Chief Barnett said.
Chief Barnett said that vehicles will then probably be used to commit the same crime over and over.
"The criminals are hoping that once you get a stolen car report, you kind of look for it for a day or so and then by day 4 or 5, you've moved on to other things, so they'll let it sit and cool off. Then when they decide to go get that car, that's when they'll drive to San Marcos or Buda or Kyle and use it in all the car burglaries for that night," Chief Barnett said.
The cycle could end if the criminals don’t find what they’re looking for anymore, so lock your vehicles and remove valuables from them.