Break-ins of cars and trucks on New York City streets are on the rise, a Daily News analysis of NYPD data shows.
Police counted 39,138 thefts of items from automobiles and trucks in 2022, an increase of 37.8% from the 21,141 such thefts reported in 2021. While the numbers have tapered off so far this year, the thefts appear to be running above 2021 levels.
There were 6,341 grand larceny break-ins in automobiles in 2022, up 27.5% from from the 4,972 such incidents reported in 2021. Under New York law, grand larceny is theft of items worth more than $1,000.
Grand larcenies are continuing to rise in 2023. As of March 31, police counted 1,337 grand larcenies from autos, a 4.8% rise from the 1,276 such thefts counted in the same period of 2022.
Grand larcenies from trucks are also up, but their overall numbers are smaller. In 2022, police counted 86 such thefts, an increase of 48.3% from the 58 reported in 2021.
As of March 31, police counted 22 grand larcenies from trucks in 2023, up 83.3% from the 12 such crimes reported in 2022.
Criminal defense lawyer Steven Raiser notes that the statistics likely understate the problem, because often people don’t report vehicle break-ins to the police.
“These are typical types of crimes are hard to solve. It’s rare to have it on video. That’s the case with a lot of property crime,” Raiser said.
“The police know they won’t find the person. People will file reports, but it’s really for the insurance for those who want to file a claim.”
Petit larcenies from cars and trucks — which involve thefts of property worth less than $1,000 — were up sharply in 2022, but are down a bit so far in 2023.
In 2022, cops counted 20,007 petit larcenies from cars and trucks, a rise of 41.8% from 2021, when police recorded 14,107 such thefts.
As of March 31 of this year, police counted 3,932 petit larcenies, a decline of 7.2% from the 4,237 counted in the same period of 2022.
Sharp-eyed motorists regularly see evidence of thefts from…
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