It used to be that just our catalytic converters had to be protected. Now it appears whole vehicles are more in danger than ever before. Vehicle thefts are surging in Las Vegas. During the month of November alone, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received 825 reports of stolen cars and trucks, as reported by 8 News Now. And in October, there were even more. 934 reports came in that month. That’s an increase this year of 20% over last year.
And where you are in the Las Vegas valley seems to matter when it comes to chances of your vehicle getting stolen. The southeast area had the largest number of stolen vehicles reported. 132 were reported in October and 157 in November.
The area where the Convention Center is was also a highly targeted spot for car thieves. That location saw the biggest increase in thefts from last year to this year. With a 55% jump. That includes the area of the Las Vegas corridor (8newsnow.com). And it can happen in the blink of an eye. One victim reported that her car was stolen in the ten minutes it took her to go up the elevator and come back down.
There seems to be a trend when it comes to the make and model that is most commonly stolen as well. Most commonly stolen last year in Las Vegas was the 2004 Chevy pickup truck. The 2006 Ford pickup truck came in second in most stolen. Coming in third is no surprise, as it is often a coveted car for thieves. That’s the Honda Civic. 2000 Civics, specifically for this year in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department urges residents to be vigilant about locking their cars, even when parked in front of your house or apartment building. Also, park in a lit area whenever possible. –Wendy Rush
Deep Sentinel broke down the list of top ten most stolen vehicles this year, and why they might be targets for thieves.
#1. Chevrolet Pickup
One of the top ten most commonly owned vehicles and the most expensive of the vehicles on that list. That gives it two times the appeal for thieves.#2: Ford Pickup
As the second most popular car in the country, that makes a lot of this truck available to steal.#3: Honda Civic
One of the most commonly owned cars, this one also has a lot of them to steal. Plus, since they’ve been around so long, there are lots of older models with fewer security features.#4: Honda Accord
Currently the most popular car in the country. So they’re easy to resell. Plus these babies have interchangeable parts, which also makes them easy for thieves to sell.#5: Toyota Camry
Another model that has been around for awhile. Which, again, makes many more old models with little to no security features.#6: GMC Pickup
The GMC is under the umbrella of General Motors, just like the Chevy. Many parts are interchangeable. And we already know why thieves like that.#7: Nissan Altima
This is one of the few cars that are actually being stolen as their newer models. Thieves are basically stealing the coding from owner’s key fobs and opening the doors without keys.#8: Honda CR-V
There’s a huge market for reselling car parts, and the CR-V is high on the list for those parts. This model is stolen quite frequently.#9: Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee
This is the first year the Jeep has been on the list of most stolen cars. Police are reporting it might be because they resell for quite a bit of money down in Mexico.#10: Toyota Corolla
One out of every 50 cars on the road is a Corolla. And they’re also one of the most stolen. Specifically the 2020 model. Thieves like the keyless feature and built-in touchscreen.
