Is My Vehicle a Target for Thieves?
Vehicle thieves fall into two general groups, professionals and opportunists. While a professional thief may be able to steal most any vehicle, they tend to target those vehicles that are high-dollar/high-profit lines. Professional thieves do steal older cars for parts, or expensive classic cars. Professional thieves only account for a quarter of Maryland’s vehicle theft problem.
Most stolen vehicles are taken by opportunists, who choose the easiest vehicle to take. Chief on their list is any car with the keys left in the ignition. A quarter of our cars stolen in Maryland are taken with the keys in the ignition. The remaining vehicles are usually those taken because the ignition systems installed by the manufacturer are easy to defeat. Here is a list of the top ten most stolen vehicles in Maryland.
- Dodge Caravan
- Honda Accord
- Jeep Cherokee
- Dodge Neon
- Honda Civic
- Plymouth Voyager
- Toyota Camry
- Ford Taurus
- Chevrolet Cavalier
- Ford Explorer
If your car is on this list, get an anti-theft device quick and use it. A simple, inexpensive device is the "Club". The "Club" is visual, so the thief sees that the targeted car has at least one anti-theft device and it is cheap and easy to use. If you want to take a second step, install a "kill switch" in your vehicle. Most car thieves recommend "Kill switches" as an effective means to defeat car theft. Finally, never leave your car running unattended, as a car with a key in the ignition is an inviting target to even the least-skilled thief. You can also protect your car by joining the free National Watch Your Car program. This law enforcement project allows police to stop your car if it is being driven during the theft prevalent hours of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.; those times when you are asleep and don’t even know that a thief is driving your car.
Article written by:
Sgt. Bob Jagoe
Baltimore Regional Auto Theft Team
Baltimore County Police Department
