Think your car is safe in a garage? Think again. KIRO 7 investigates stopping car thefts

Car thefts in Western Washington have unfortunately become more common. Whether it’s professional crime rings or crimes of opportunity—hundreds of cars are stolen from our streets and garages each month.

So, what can you do? And do safety precautions like secured garages, kill switches or other deterrents really work?

KIRO 7′s Bridget Chavez took a look at just how effective preventative measures are.

“I thought that it was safe,” said car theft victim Jon-Erick Anes.

But it wasn’t

Jon-Erik Anes’ car was stolen from the short-term controlled-access parking garage at SEA.

“You kind of feel a little violated right like your privacy, your things,” he said.

KIRO 7 talked to Sgt. Darren Moss with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

“Having a gate or garage that’s locked or secure is going to deter those opportunistic thieves, people that are just walking by and pulling on door handles to see if a car is unlocked,” said Sgt. Moss.

But Sgt. Moss said it’s a different story if a crook is determined to get to your car.

“It’s really just a little hiccup, a little hurdle in their way but it doesn’t prevent somebody completely from being able to access and steal your vehicle,” he said.

The Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force reports that in 2022, 16,505 vehicles were reported stolen in King County. That number jumped to 18,224 in 2023.

Snohomish County also saw a sharp spike in car thefts - from 2,874 vehicles in 2022 to 3,220 last year.

But in Pierce County, the number of stolen vehicles fell from more than 9,600 in 2022 to under 8,400 last year.

Sgt. Moss believes that’s because they’ve been arresting prolific car thieves.

“In the past, they might have stolen 30 cars a month now they’re stealing zero, so that’s a huge benefit when we catch the crooks who are doing it over and over and over and we can lower those numbers by catching five people who do it every single day,” he said.

But car thieves are resourceful. Even vehicles secured in garages at car dealerships are not safe.

“It’s a big concern, we worry about it every single day,” said GM of Burien Toyota, Patrick Dillon.

A surveillance video from the dealership shows a thief lifting the garage door, and then getting into a brand-new truck parked in a bay. He attempted to drive off but hit the service rack, getting stuck.

“It protects the cars and helps us with our inventory, manages batteries on the one point but as far as car theft goes, even if a person were to get the key to the car, they can’t start the car without having the system and that helps us to ward off thefts,” Dillon said.

Dillon said they use an app that works as a type of kill switch to prevent car thefts.

“So the car won’t start, even if you have a key?” KIRO 7 asked.

“Even if you have a key the car won’t start,” said Dillon. “It takes the combination of the two, the key and that system to make the car drivable.”

Dillon said in the year and a half since they started using the system, they’ve had less than five vehicles stolen.

“It makes our cars secure we know that they’re going to be here even if they break into the building and steal the keys,” said Dillon.

It’s not foolproof but taking precautions can make you less of a victim.

“If you have a kill switch, you’ve got a club, if you’ve disabled your battery or any kind of means to disable the vehicle from being able to run by them jamming a screwdriver or whatever they do to steal it, that’s just another layer of protection to keep them from getting your vehicle,” Sgt. Moss said.

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