BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Stolen car calls are now routine for Buffalo Police officers and the number of victims is on the rise. It's more than a problem, now a crisis impacting so many in WNY.
An issue like this takes extra time to explore. 7 News has taken a month and a half to hear from a variety of voices and find out how this could impact you and your family and what's being done about it.
Below, find the resources to help you, data to show you and voices to inform you.
The victims
A night out with friends near home on Allen Street turned into a night with a tow truck for Kristen Kimmick.
"I see shattered glass next to the sidewalk. And then I sit there for a minute and I realize 'Oh, it's me. I'm having a bad night,'" said Kimmick.
The bottom of her car was torn up, her back window shattered, her steering column (pictured below) ripped out.
"Everything about this is annoying," said Kimmick. "I'm probably losing a fully paid off car that only had 50,000 miles on it that's never been in an accident."
She got the car from her late father.
Kimmick is one of 620 car thefts that happened in Buffalo in June, per data from Buffalo police.
Marty Pecoraro's business is another one. He's been selling cars with River Front Auto on Niagara street since the 1970s, so this isn't new to him. But he's used to watching out for the classic cars.
"They broke the column, but they never got the car out of here," said Pecoraro. "Once they were done with this one, they moved two of the same car, same night. It was terrible, the damage they did was over thousands of dollars to each one of the cars."
He caught it all on camera, too. Watch the video below.
Now he's pulling out the old clubs to protect what's left of his inventory.
"I have a Hyundai here, I have a Kia over there and when those are gone until this problem gets rectified I'm not buying anymore," said Pecoraro.
The Insurance Broker
Pecoraro's cars will be tough to sell, but even more difficult to insure.
After police, Joe Waleszczak is often the next call as an insurance broker with the Schunke Agency in West Seneca.
From Ellicottville to Eden, he and his fellow brokers have seen dozens.
Since he's the numbers guy, we had him do some of the math, showing how this can impact you.
At about 10 stolen cars per day, that leads to 3,650 per year. At $10,000 per claim, that's $36,500,000 insurance companies are going to have to pay in the city of Buffalo alone this year.
Which means your insurance could go up.
"I would expect a very large rate increase, everybody's gonna be eating it in some way," said Waleszczak.
Which could also lead to more people driving without insurance because of how expensive it's becoming.
It's a ripple effect with no end in sight.
The Buffalo Police Commissioner
When there's a crime trend, police have to shift their strategies, that's what they started doing in July.
"We got the assistance of NYSP and Erie County Sheriff's helicopters. We get notifications of a stolen car, we get that info up to the helicpter, tell them where they are, back off and occupants of the car will bail off and run and it gives our officers the opportunity to chase them on foot," said Gramaglia.
This strategy has lead to 49 arrests, according to Gramaglia.
Watch below to listen to this process play out on a September 4 stolen car call.
"That's also leading to more gun arrests, we're seeing a number of these, and they're kids, these occupants that are also carrying guns that are also doing shootings," said Gramaglia.
But some are able to go right back to stealing cars, which he says is another issue with bail reform.
The Community Facebook Group
Buffalo Police are also working with two women who are taking matters into their own hands.
"People are coming to the community and questions on the page and saying 'Hey what do I do to keep myself safe? What do I do when my car's stolen?'," said Justine Link.
Link and Paula Andrea have spent the summer as a resource for victims of stolen cars, answering those questions.
They now have a database on their website where you can report or find a stolen car. All you have to do is put in your make, model, year and license plate.
Their site shows 1,457 recovered cars.
The group also hosted a community meeting in August with a panel of leaders answering questions about how they're working toward solutions.
"In order to have effective change it may take a little bit of time and feel like nobody's doing anything, but we promise you people are doing something," said Andrea.
The Erie County District Attorney / Restorative Justice
So what are the consequences for the "Kia Boys"? District Attorney John Flynn says he doesn't know how many are out there, but 16 have been prosecuted.
Four out of those 16 are repeat offenders. Those offenders are facing jail time. But first timers, especially young ones, get a chance at the county's Restorative Justice Program.
"So they don't become a repeat offender and they don't get a criminal record," said DA Flynn.
It's a three part series:
- Part 1 - Young offenders meet with the people they stole from to literally face the consequences, sometimes even paying deductibles
- Part 2 - Young offenders meet with Buffalo Police to try to repair trust
- Part 3 - Young offenders connect with community leaders to get them involved or employed
"This is a city of a second chance and that's what we need to be looking at when we're talking about the increase in car thefts, like how can we offer second chances," said Dina Thompson, Executive Director of the Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition.
This part of the solution until things die down.
"The newer models of Kias and Hyundais, people becoming more aware of it and locking their doors and the fad is gonna wear off," said DA Flynn.
The car companies
Both Kia and Hyundai declined on camera interviews, but sent statements.
"Kia continues to take action to help our customers by making it more difficult for criminals to use methods of theft recently popularized on social media to steal certain vehicle models...To date, more than 660,000 vehicles nationwide...Lawsuits filed by municipalities against Kia are without merit. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has publicly stated that it has not determined that this issue constitutes either a safety defect or non-compliance requiring a recall under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
Kia has been and continues to be willing to work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies, in the Buffalo area and across the country, to combat car theft and the role social media has played in encouraging it, and we remain committed to supporting our customers and to vehicle security."
"Hyundai is committed to the comprehensive actions we are undertaking to assist customers and communities affected by the persistent theft of certain vehicles not equipped with push-button ignitions and engine immobilizers. Our dealers across the country are maximizing the number of anti-theft software installations that can be performed on a daily basis, contributing to steadily increasing completion rates, which we report to NHTSA weekly. Hyundai recently piloted a mobile service center in Washington, D.C. and plans to replicate in additional markets through year-end to further scale and speed installation of the software upgrade."
Still need help? Check out these resources
The WNY Stolen Vehicles group is here on Facebook and their website is here.
Their community meeting answered the following questions:
- Can I get my money back/is there any financial recuperation help I can get?
- What's being done by BPD?
- Where are the parents?
- If my car was vandalized, but not stolen, what will happen?
- What should I look out for?
Click here to read 7 News Reporter Taylor Epps' report on the meeting.
Looking to join in on the class action lawsuit? Click here for more info.
Click here for more info from Kia, click here for more info from Hyundai.
