Car thefts soar 19% in New York City; cops blame TikTok challenge
Hyundai, Kia
The dangerous trend of stealing cars,particularly of the Hyundai and Kia models, has witnessed a 19 per cent surge this year inNew York, the city's police department informed earlier this week.
“We have seen double-digit increases,it’s simply not acceptable," saidPolice Commissioner Edward Caban, during a press conference.
"Most of us know someone who has had their car stolen.We understand that for those who have unfortunately experienced this crime, it is an invasion of your space. Our vehicles are often extensions of ourselves and of our homes."
Reports state that approximately 10,600 car thefts have been reported in the five boroughs (Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island) of the city, which is a significant increase from around 9,000 thefts reported during the same period last year.
Speaking on the crisis, city MayorEric Adams said:"We are going to take the wheel of this crisis and drive it and put it on the right path."
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NY City sues South Korean carmakers
While car thefts are on the rise, New York City earlier this year announced it was suing South Korean carmakers for manufacturing cars that are too easy to steal.
New York argued that the carmaker did not install anti-theft devices called immobilizers on most of their cars between 2011and 2022, making it easy to steal them.Through the lawsuit, the cityaims "to hold the two companies accountable".
Notably, New York Cityjoined the likes ofBaltimore, Cleveland, Milwaukee, San Diego, and Seattle to sue the South Korean automakers.
‘Explosion’ of car thefts
Notably, Hyundai is the parent company of Kia but the two companies operate separately. The uptick in thefts was reported after a TikTok challenge surfaced last year whereinKia and Hyundai cars which still use mechanical keys and not electronic systems were targetted by clout-chasing influencers.
The lack of anti-theft measures made the cars more vulnerable to larceny. The challenge egged the users on the app to take advantage and steal the cars using minimal tools. The thieves took videos of them stealing the cars and posted them on the ByteDance-owned platform with the hashtag“Kia Boys”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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