CHICAGO (CBS) – Chicago’s car theft crisis appears to be on the decline, after reaching a two-decades high of 31,139 vehicles stolen or attempted stolen in 2023.
The social media-fueled surge
Chicago Police Department data, obtained and analyzed by CBS 2, show October 2022 as the month with the most thefts. Thieves targeted 3,401 vehicles during those 31 days.
Kia and Hyundai vehicles made up the majority of cars stolen that month. A total of 2,131, or 63%, were taken, in part due to a social media craze exposing a vulnerability which made them easier to nab. The CBS 2 Investigators reported in depth on the surge and the TikTok videos that fueled the spike .
Kias and Hyundais made up an even larger percentage, 65%, of all thefts the following month, November 2022 – even though 93 fewer were stolen.
The promising pattern
The new CBS 2 analysis reveals a promising pattern more recently in both overall vehicle thefts and in particular with Kias and Hyundais by the end of 2023 going into the first two weeks of 2024.