Joyriding in the US, not until now.

AMurphy

Joyriding appears to be on the rise here. Otherwise, not normally why cars are stolen.

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Teen ring reflects rise in vehicle thefts

POLICE SAY S.J. GROUP STOLE UP TO 50 AUTOS

By Chuck Carroll and Elise Ackerman

Mercury News


It was almost as easy as playing ``Grand Theft Auto'' on PlayStation 2.

The teens would find an old Saturn SL or Honda Accord parked on the street and stick a filed or worn-down key in the ignition. Vroom! An instant thrill and wheels to boot.

Police in Campbell and San Jose recently caught up with a group of students at San Jose's Del Mar High School who they say joined in a five-month car-stealing spree. It's a pattern that has been repeated all over the Bay Area, with vehicle thefts on the rise.

In a Palo Alto case, a thief told police he took a car ``just because he wanted to go over to Wal-Mart.'' A few robbers have even returned cars to the same street where they stole the vehicles -- only to drive off with another one from down the block.

Police believe the Del Mar High group, which was made up of at least eight teenage males, took as many as 50 Honda Accords, Honda Civics and Saturn SLs.

``It was mostly thrill-seeking and joy-riding,'' said Capt. David Dehaan of the Campbell Police Department. Dehaan said the teens also stole car stereos and personal property in the vehicles, including laptops and golf clubs.

Across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, vehicle thefts were up more than 20 percent last year -- reflecting both the ease of stealing vehicles and the perceived lack of punishment, authorities say.

``One guy learns how to do it, he'll show a friend, who will show a friend, who will show another friend,'' said Sgt. Jim Tanner, special agent supervisor of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Task Force on Vehicle Theft.

Worn ignitions

The problem is that certain Hondas, Toyotas, Saturns, Nissans and Acuras from the early to mid-1990s are a cinch to steal. They lack the anti-theft devices installed on more modern cars, and after years of use their ignition mechanisms are worn enough to respond to shaved keys or keys from a similar car.

Auto theft investigators say these dummy keys appear to be easily available to crooks, drug addicts and teens looking to travel.

``The reason these cars are being stolen so quickly is that if someone puts a key into the lock, and it opens the lock, they'll take the car,'' said detective Ken Kratt, who investigates auto thefts in Palo Alto.

One thief told Kratt that he took vehicles because the proceeds from their stolen stereos helped him maintain his methamphetamine addiction.

The good news is that most of the stolen vehicles are recovered. Last year, the recovery rate was 85.7 percent in Santa Clara County and 95.2 percent in San Mateo County.

``Wherever we are recovering a car, within a couple of blocks we've taken a report for a stolen car,'' Tanner said. ``It's a crime of opportunity.''

Vehicle owners can protect themselves by locking up their old cars, using an anti-theft device like the Club or a steering wheel lock, and stashing valuables out of sight, said Lt. Vaughan Edwards of the Santa Clara County Regional Auto Theft Task Force in San Jose.

Saturn spokesman Brian Brockman said the company doesn't have any data addressing whether its vehicles are more theft-prone than other autos. ``We always try to take the appropriate steps to make vehicles that we sell difficult to steal, but no car is theft-proof,'' Brockman said.

Related investigations

In the Del Mar High case, seven teenagers and a young adult were arrested in recent weeks, and 21 stolen cars recovered, as a result of related investigations by San Jose and Campbell police.

The first investigation began Jan. 14 when San Jose police officer Todd Trayer checked the license plate of a Saturn parked near the high school and learned the vehicle had been reported stolen.

Two 14-year-olds and a 16-year-old were arrested when they returned to the car after school. Information those suspects provided led to more arrests and recovered vehicles.

The Campbell portion of the investigation started Jan. 20, when Sgt. David Carmichael noticed a Saturn driving erratically on East Hamilton Avenue near Bascom Avenue. That also led to several arrests and the recovery of more cars, most of which were Saturns and Hondas stolen from the Westfield Shoppingtown Valley Fair and Santana Row shopping centers.

Recovered cars believed to be connected to the ring were also taken from the Campbell Community Center, San Ramon and Dublin.

Hirman Cortez of Milpitas, 18, was charged with 14 counts of auto theft and burglary and two counts of conspiracy. He's in Santa Clara County jail with bail set at $160,000. One 16-year-old from San Jose faces the same number of counts on the same charges. Six more juveniles have also been charged with auto theft, including one who faces four counts plus a conspiracy charge.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of 22-year-old San Jose resident Rogelio Sanchez.

Police are pessimistic that vehicle thieves can be deterred. ``I don't believe they are going to stop,'' Kratt said. ``It's not a high-risk type crime and it's paying off.''

SJ Mercury (Murky) News.

Stephen

I love how they got the dig in at grand theft auto, twats.

Phryxus

So that's just told me it's easy to steal old civics and it gave me the basics of how it's done.

Seems to me if that's on the news, people who would do something like that will see it and say "Hey that sounds easy" and give it a try.

The problem is that certain Hondas, Toyotas, Saturns, Nissans and Acuras from the early to mid-1990s are a cinch to steal. They lack the anti-theft devices installed on more modern cars, and after years of use their ignition mechanisms are worn enough to respond to shaved keys or keys from a similar car.

Auto theft investigators say these dummy keys appear to be easily available to crooks, drug addicts and teens looking to travel.

``The reason these cars are being stolen so quickly is that if someone puts a key into the lock, and it opens the lock, they'll take the car,''

gurramok

Wait until the 'thieves' start burning the cars when they are finished with them instead of just dumping them !
Has it just been the UK & Ireland where joyriding is widespread for the last number of years?
Its just that I have never heard nor read about it nor seen it happening on the continent.

Capt'n Midnight

Up the north the IRA / INLA / RUC / SAS / UDA / UFF / British Army either had or were accused of a shoot to kill policy. Joyriders have been shot dead , kneecapped etc and it still went on.

Yeah just wait till they burn them to hide fingerprints..

AMurphy

Phryxus wrote:

So that's just told me it's easy to steal old civics and it gave me the basics of how it's done.

.........QUOTE]

Just to show how "lucky" one can be with keys.
A few years back someone tried to screwdriver the boot lock on the Camry, so I got a replacement, random selection and not matched to the ignition.

The original Ig key was getting worn, so I tried the new boot key, and behold, it worked better than the original in the ig, but would not open the door.... until yesterday, when based on your comments, I tried the boot key on the door... with a little more pressure, it works there now also.

So, it's pretty safe to say select any old car and model key and there is a good chance wear alone will make easy entry possible.

Unfortunately getting new matched locks is a pain, the dealers want all sorts of proof you own the car, and some serial numbers which can only be read by removing the door panels, etc.....
Thus, by making it difficult to replace/renew the locks the dealers are actually aiding in theft... which is good for their new car sales. Go figure.