Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer is taking a multi-faceted approach to hold car manufacturers responsible for the rise in Kia and Hyundai thefts due partly to a defect that allows people to steal the cars with only a USB charger.
But what about holding the thieves responsible?
Senator Schumer was in Buffalo Monday afternoon highlighting the disturbing rise in car thefts in the City of Buffalo specifically. "In all of 2022, 400 Kias and Hyundais were stolen. This year, in January and February, it's almost that many, 350 [thefts]. We need to put the brakes on this disturbing trend."
Schumer's approach to stopping this is calling on the manufacturers to provide free anti-theft kits to the owners, including steering wheel locks and develop a universal software fix for all those who are and potentially could be impacted.
In addition, the senator is calling for the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency to investigate how this predictable and avoidable safety defect was allowed to proceed and make formal recommendations as to what can be done to fix the problem.
"These kids who are stealing the Kias, I don't think they care," said Jenna Haring, a local car theft victim who spoke at the event Monday. "They're not thinking about the Kia drivers as people, they just want a joy ride in your car. They have their own TikTok and Instagram pages too. They post everything on there, videos of them joy riding and multiple Kias sitting in a parking lot, all stolen."
A majority of these car thefts are being done by juveniles or teenagers under the age of 18.
Unfortunately, it's hard for our local police departments to not only keep up with these thefts, but to hold these young adults accountable.
"They get released to their parents, they go to family court, we never hear what happens to them again," said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia. "We track the amount of people that get arrested multiple times for stolen cars, it is a problem. We're only catching a small percentage of those that are stealing these cars because they're catching them and dumping them so fast. And, in many instances, before the car owners even wake up in the morning."
Commissioner Gramaglia acknowledges that bail reform also plays a role into car thefts. "You make an arrest, it's an appearance ticket. They have to be released."
Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Gould also weighed-in on the issue, saying something needs to be done to hold these juveniles responsible.
"I think we definitely need to look at the effectiveness of the current procedures when it comes to the prosecution of 16 and 17 year olds, or those under the age of 18, who are now treated not as adults anymore to see if there's something, a more effective way, that those those individuals could be held responsible for what they do and hopefully deterred from committing further offenses," said Chief Gould.