Car theft is a major problem around the country. This is despite many of the best new cars having features to lessen the chance of theft. However, one county in Rochester, New York might be one of the worst places as almost 2,000 cars went missing over a nine month period. In fact, some residents had vehicles stolen multiple times. 

The best new cars aren’t the only targets for car theft

Luckily, it has gotten harder for bad actors to steal many of the best new cars. This is thanks to advanced security features. Still, car theft is a significant problem. According to ABC13 WHAM, Monroe County in Rochester, New York, had 1,700 vehicles stolen in only nine months. Sadly, some people who had missing cars had this happen multiple times.

One such example of a person whose car has gone missing more than once is Spencer Cloutier. Unfortunately, car thieves targeted him twice last year. One instance was when his car went missing from his job. The other time involved his vehicle being taken from his own driveway. According to Spencer, “I was pretty freaked out, the first time especially, because I didn’t see my car in the parking lot, so I was like ‘Where did it go?’”

Spencer continues, “They actually found it all the way out in Syracuse, and the passenger side window was smashed in, the steering column was broken, and the battery was dead because it was just sitting in a lot.” He adds, “Lots of repairs and a lot of the parts were on backorder. I think it was a month or two.”

Someone from the police station said that there are one to two car thefts per shift that officers work. Of course, this also means that some days, there will be more thefts. To remedy this problem, the sheriff’s office implemented a stolen vehicle task force last July. As a result, police officers uncover five to seven vehicles per day. Still, they’re planning to do more to stop car theft.