TRENTON, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Car thefts in New Jersey are on the rise, according to authorities. Now the governor is spending $10 million to combat the problem.
The money is being spent to expand license plate-reading technology for police throughout the Garden State. Gov. Phil Murphy said systems are already commonly used in larger cities, and grants will help expand license plate readers to the suburbs.
"This investment in our police can mean less officer hours spent chasing leads and more of them spent recovering stolen vehicles and getting car thieves off of our streets," said Murphy.
Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin said 2021 was a record high for car thefts in the state, adding they're up nearly 40% so far this year.
"Stolen vehicles are not always — and in fact often are not isolated incidents. They're increasingly linked to other serious crimes, in particular shootings," said Platkin.
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Some of the readers will be in fixed locations along heavily traveled roads, while others will be installed on police cars.
Still, Murphy noted people are making things too easy for thieves and need to be more careful.
"I mean, overwhelmingly," he lamented, "the percentage of these cars that are stolen are cars that had the fob sitting in them. From all of us, please lock the darn car and take the key fob out of the car."
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