WHITE PLAINS – Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr. announced auto crimes continue to rise in the County at extremely high rates. Recent reports show widespread car thefts in residential areas including Scarsdale, where stolen vehicles have spiked by as much as 2000% over the same period from last year.
According to Scarpino, every municipality in the County has reported at least one theft and other incidents. Statistics compiled by the District Attorney’s Office Westchester Intelligence Center from local law enforcement show a year-over-year increase of 60% through the end of August.
Scarpino said, “While we do know of groups of professional thieves from New Jersey stealing luxury vehicles and exporting them for the overseas black market, a majority of thefts in the suburbs are carried out mostly by teens and young people from Connecticut’s urban areas who are coming into Westchester, stealing cars which are left unlocked
and with a fob/key left in the car. The theft is bad enough, but these vehicles are being used to commit other crimes and endangering the lives of others. Some have been involved in police pursuits resulting in accidents. If you leave your car unlocked, you are helping criminals and putting others in danger.”
In addition to the vehicle thefts, police are also seeing a rise in vehicle “grab-and-go” thefts, where thieves help themselves to valuables left in the car.
“We reminded residents earlier in the summer and we are doing it again. The numbers are staggering. As auto thefts and grab-and-go crimes continue to plague the County along with the pandemic, I urge residents to be careful to lock their vehicles. These are crimes of opportunity,” said DA Scarpino.
The District Attorney’s Auto Theft Unit and the Westchester County Intelligence Center are assisting local police and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, as well as law enforcement partners in Connecticut, in these investigations.
In all of 2019, there were 519 stolen vehicles in Westchester. From January through August of 2020, there have already been 540 vehicles stolen. Scarsdale had one car stolen in 2019 compared to 21 so far this year. There have been 23 cars stolen in Rye this year.
In an effort to reduce vehicles from being stolen or burglarized, Scarpino recommends the following:
- Never leave your key or key fob in the car
- Never leave a car running unattended
- Never keep garage door openers in the car if it is not
parked in a locked garage - Always lock the car doors
- Always remove or hide all valuables
- Always activate your alarm if you have one
- Always close the car windows
- Always park in a well-lit area at night if possible
