CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department gave its public safety report for the first quarter of 2023 Thursday morning.
Officers said that overall crime is up 7%, violent crime is down 6%, and property crime is up 10% compared to the first quarter of 2022. CMPD also said 911 calls are up 8%.
Property crime, like auto thefts and break-ins, has been on the rise in the past year and is a growing concern in the Charlotte area, police said.
CMPD’s 2022 crime report found property crimes were up 6% compared to 2021. Auto-theft arrests alone are up 64% compared to 2022.
Reported car thefts and attempted car thefts have doubled compared to this time last year. Of the 1,500 reported incidents in 2023, CMPD said more than half involved Kias and Hyundais.
The main driver behind the spike in auto thefts is the Tik Tok challenge encouraging children to steal Kias and Hyundais due to a software the models contain.
"800 people that couldn’t go to the doctor or couldn’t go to school today because their car was just missing for some random game or some Tik Tok challenge," CMPD Major Luke Sells said. "It seems absurd.”
Sells added 95% of the people arrested for stealing a Kia or Hyundai are minors.
Charlotte police said they are seeing more teenagers become repeat offenders and commit serious crimes.
"CMPD continues to navigate this vicious cycle of catch and release," Sells said.
What is also concerning police is the number of guns being stolen from cars in Charlotte.
"If you own a gun do not leave it in your vehicle," Deputy Chief Tonya Arrington said. "So far, we’ve had 258 guns stolen from vehicles this year.”
CMPD reported it has seized more than 800 guns so far this year.
The number of homicides has increased in 2023 with 24 cases during the first quarter compared to 19 cases in the first quarter of 2022.
One way people are deterring car thefts and break-ins is with video surveillance systems that make a noise when the camera detects someone.
"It's really important they have video surveillance and different types of deterrents in place so that they're either deterring a car thief or if a car break-in or car theft happens, that they’ll have video and have some type of notification so they find out quickly and they can share that with police," CPI Security spokesperson Kristi O'Connor told WCNC Charlotte.
O'Connor added there are tracking devices people can put on the cars that will alert them if their car is turned on or moves.
CMPD also recommends locking cars, not keeping valuables in them, and parking in well-lit areas.
Kia and Hyundai owners can take their cars to a dealership to update the software thieves are targeting. CMPD is also giving away steering wheel locks on April 29 from 12-2 p.m. in the Walmart parking at 3200 Wilkinson Blvd.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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