The City of Dallas saw Motor Vehicle Thefts increase year-over-year yet again in August, jumping 91 from 2,274 in 2022 compared to that month in 2021, according to the City’s crime statistics. Stealing cars has quite possibly never been easier.
A trend on social media, the TikTok Kia Challenge, may have contributed to increased thefts nationwide, as reported in The Dallas Express. The videos show viewers how to steal Kia and Hyundai cars.
The craze, driven primarily by younger people, started after design flaws in model 2011-2021 Kias and 2016-2021 Hyundais were discovered, allowing thieves to easily bypass the ignition system and steal the vehicles.
Whether the social media trend is helping to push the Motor Vehicle Thefts surge in Dallas and the rest of North Texas is unclear. Still, as of September 20, the Dallas Police Department reported over 9,800 Motor Vehicle Thefts this year, a roughly 16% increase compared to 2021.
Authorities advise car owners to take extra precautions to secure their vehicles.
“Thieves have gotten sophisticated and know how to defeat the factory tracking devices,” Plano Police Department shared on social media. “We strongly recommend investing in an aftermarket location-tracking device …This device can be as inexpensive as an Apple Airtag or as expensive as installing a LoJack System. Whatever device you choose, it needs to be hidden very well on or inside the vehicle.”
The vehicle makes and models stolen most often in North Texas, according to PPD, are:
- Cadillac CTS-V
- Cadillac Escalade
- Chevrolet Corvette
- Chevrolet Silverado or Tahoe
- Dodge Charger, Challenger ScatPack, Hellcat, SRT, Daytona
- Dodge Ram TRX
- GMC Yukon or Sierra
- Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Eight of the 14 Districts in Dallas saw increases in Motor Vehicle Thefts last month. District 2 – led by CBOM runner-up for September Councilman Jesse Moreno – and District 14 – represented by Councilman Paul E. Ridley – saw the highest Motor Vehicle Theft totals, with 311 and 270, respectively. Ridley’s district saw an overall August Crime Score increase of 14.28%.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson’s office was contacted for comment, but none were returned by press time.
The remaining crime categories to see an overall increase citywide are:
- Drug/Narcotic Violations (+48)
- Trespass of Real Property (+29)
- Robbery (+25)
- Animal Offenses (+25)
- Stolen Property Offenses (+23)
- Assault Offenses (+12)
- Nonviolent Family Offenses (+7)
- Extortion/Blackmail (+1)
The Dallas Express, The People’s Paper, believes that important information about the city, such as crime rates and trends, should be easily accessible to you. Dallas has more crime per capita than hotspots like Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York, according to data from the FBI’s UCR database.
How did your area stack up on crime? Check out our interactive Crime Map to compare all Dallas City Council Districts. Curious how we got our numbers? Check out our methodology page here.