VANCOUVER, Wash. — Vancouver police say they've seen a large increase in stolen cars to start the year. In 2021, Vancouver police say 2,183 cars were stolen. That's more than the previous two years combined (1,345 in 2020 and 790 in 2019).
To start the year, already more than 400 have been stolen in January and through the first two weeks February.
"A lot of time people are using these cars just for a ride, they literally need to get from place A to B and they don't have the means to buy their own car," said Vancouver police spokesperson Kim Kapp. "Sometimes it's just a transport issue, sometimes they are definitely stripped out and used for parts. So there's kind of a variety of circumstances that can be at play when we recover a vehicle, if we recover it."
In Portland, 9,059 cars were stolen in 2021 which was the most the city has seen since 1995 when police started tracking the stat. That year, police tallied 9,310 motor vehicle thefts.
Kapp said jail space is limited and since these are low-level crimes, car thieves are more often than not arrested, booked, charged and then released to appear for future court dates, oftentimes re-offending once they are released.
"There are those types of situations where it's a bit of a revolving door. Someone steals a car, they might get booked, then they're released and they might show up for a court date. They may or may not show up for that court date, they go right back to business," Kapp said. "So we're kind of dealing with a group of people who may be in the business of stealing cars or breaking into cars and stealing property."
Police said car owners should never leave their cars running while they aren't inside them and not to leave anything of value inside the cars. Kapp said to owners should park their car in a well-lit area or a secured area like a garage. Make sure doors are locked and never leave a spare key or a hidden key in or on the vehicle.
Tigard police tweeted that a higher-than-average number of cars were stolen in January compared to the monthly average through all of 2021.