Auto thefts in Los Angeles are at a record level in the second quarter of 2020 and one of the theories is that the cars have been idle for longer periods due to shelter-in-place patterns since the coronavirus outbreak.
Crosstown, a nonprofit media outlet at the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, analyzed data from the Los Angeles Police Department, which revealed a 57.7 percent increase between April and June in compared to thefts from the same period last year. In the three months, 5,744 stolen vehicles were reported.
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Crosstown suggested the increase could be due to residents leaving their cars unattended for long periods of time while taking refuge on-site. The publication also cited the city’s new “$ 0 state bond” policy for misdemeanors and misdemeanors, which the California Judicial Council announced in April.
“People are seeing that they are not going to stay in jail, especially for auto theft,” said LAPD Lt. Siage Hosea, who is part of the Task Force on Regional Protection against Auto Theft. “So what is happening is that we are seeing repeat offenders.”
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These second-quarter robberies exceeded the city’s previous record of 5,098 robberies that the police department saw in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The three neighborhoods that stood out for the highest number of auto thefts this year so far include Boyle Heights, 327; Sun Valley, 304 and Van Nuys with 293.
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Hosea also advised residents to keep their cars parked nearby or at least to wear protective gear such as an alarm or steering wheel lock, Crosstown reported.
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Overall, thefts of motor vehicles are the only property crime that was shot in the past month, according to a CompStat from the June 21 to July 18 by the Los Angeles police. Thefts, personal or other theft, as well as theft or theft of a motor vehicle, have been reduced in recent weeks.
