According to a report issued Wednesday, the yearly number of car thefts in the United States reached one million for the first time since 2008.
According to a National Insurance Crime Bureau review of National Crime Information Center data, the measure will climb by 7% between 2021 and 2022.
Last year, the company reported that monthly stolen totals surpassed 75,000.
California and Texas had the biggest amount of auto thefts last year, with 201,000 and 105,000 stolen vehicles, respectively.
The states with the fastest-growing numbers of thefts were Illinois (35% increase) and Washington (31% increase).
Thefts have increased in especially for select Kia and Hyundai automobiles, which lack electronic immobilizers that prevent criminals from bypassing the ignition in other companies’ vehicles.
According to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety research, viral social media videos have trained juvenile criminals on how to steal the automobiles.
Vehicle crimes have increased in both Washington and Illinois as a result of attempts by top officials and politicians to reduce law enforcement actions in those states.
Under a new law, police officers in Washington are now required to use the least amount of physical force necessary during encounters with suspects, while another new guideline significantly limits when cops are authorized to participate in automobile pursuits.
In addition, Illinois removed cash bail two years ago, according to legislation signed by liberal Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The crime wave among automobiles mirrors that in many other categories of crime such as murder, which have surged since the George Floyd riots during the summer of 2020.
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