Car thefts are up, Santa Maria CHP creates team to tackle problem

SANTA MARIA, Cali. - Car burglaries and thefts are on the rise. Santa Maria CHP has put together a special team to recover stolen vehicles and prevent thefts.

Last year 180,939 were stolen in California. That's a nearly 20 percent increase from 2019. In Santa Maria, car thefts more than doubled last year. A vehicle was stolen every three minutes on average in California in 2020. CHP reports 89.2 percent of stolen vehicles were successfully recovered.

"We've seen stolen vehicles that we've recovered with stereos missing, wheels removed from the cars, catalytic converters removed," Benjamin Smith with Santa Maria CHP said. "And there are some vehicles that just don't get recovered and we don't know where they're at."

Santa Maria CHP now has a dedicated team looking to prevent thefts and recover stolen cars. They've been busy since they started in February of 2020, when the number of stolen vehicles reported in the area more than doubled.

"The year prior we were around 85. We're up in the 200's for last year," Smith said.

With fewer people driving during the pandemic, more parked cars led to more opportunities for thieves. The Auto Club advises parking in a well lit area, always locking your car, using an alarm,and if possible pointing a security camera toward your driveway.

"They're seeing people at 2 or 3 in the morning just walking up and down the street checking the door handles," AAA Southern California Spokesperson, Jeffrey Spring said. "And so they're looking to steal things out of the car, or steal the car."

The easiest car to steal is one that has the keys in the ignition.

"They're running an errand," Smith said. "They go inside to a business, pick up a letter and come back out. Or, they warm up their cars in the morning. Well, they leave that vehicle unlocked and they're warming it up. That's where we're seeing a lot of stolen (cars) come from."

So always take your keys with you when you leave the car, or the CHP Vehicle Theft Reduction Team may end up working for you.

"It's been nice being able to see the reaction from people getting their vehicles back that they thought were gone forever," Smith said.