DALLAS — The Dallas Police Department say they have seen a substantial increase in juvenile car thieves. Police have arrested 126 juveniles so far this year compared to 51 this same time last year.
Ashley Cannon was one of the victims.
”The back window was busted out really bad,” Cannon said.
Cannon said she’s angry that her Kia was stolen -- not once, but twice this year.
”It takes a toll on a lot of things like I’m having to get my car fixed on the inside and basically it’s very stressful,” said Cannon.
It cost her nearly $1,000 for impound fees and repairs, which is difficult for a single mother on a fixed income.
“It’s really sad because they don’t understand that people work hard for the things that they have and it’s not easy to come by money," Cannon said.
Detective Maurico Hill, an auto theft detective for DPD, says there’s been a 24% increase in stolen vehicles this year.
”One juvenile told me that, during the summertime, he was stealing one car a day," Hill said. "Another juvenile told me he stole about 100 so far."
Police say Kias are the number one target for juveniles who are learning on social media how to steal them within seconds.
”It’s very easy if you know what you’re doing, it can probably be done in under a minute by most juveniles,” said Hill.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia says it’s a huge problem nationwide because juveniles can be in and out of the system quickly and are hard to keep in jail.
”Sometimes they are committing organized crime and that is not a small thing," Garcia said. "We have to hold them accountable to some extent or they will graduate to something greater."
In a couple of tragic cases in Dallas, victims tracked down their own cars and were fatally shot when they confronted the suspects instead of waiting for police. It can take hours, if not days, for police to find a stolen car.
”They are tragic incidents, obviously life is always over property and again, I understand the frustration,” Garcia said.
Garcia said DPD is about to launch a new plan to respond to stolen cars faster and cracking down on car thieves, and he wants to work with vehicle manufactures to find ways to make vehicles harder to steal.
Cannon, who was stranded for days without her car, said that’s good news.