ATLANTA — In just the first five months of 2022, Atlanta police say more than 1,000 cars were stolen off of the streets.
Police say that more than half of those cars with the keys still inside or with the car already running.
To put the 1,065 stolen cars into perspective, that would mean that an average of more than seven cars were stolen every day from January 1 to May 31.
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“Nobody thinks it will happen to them until they return from a quick errand and find their car gone. Don’t make it easy for thieves to steal,” the police department said in a Facebook post.
They say taking your keys with you and locking your car doors greatly decrease the likelihood that your car will be stolen.
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Earlier this year, Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln found that car thefts and break-ins were on the rise at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
In 2019, at least 10 vehicle thefts were reported at the airport. By 2020, that number had jumped to 45 and in 2021, 73 vehicle thefts occurred. By July, 58 vehicles had been reported stolen.
A viral TikTok trend also saw teenagers across the country, including metro Atlanta, teaching each other just how easy it would be to steal a Kia or Hyundai car.
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