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A screenshot of the ValleyCom 911 dispatch log, showing steady Renton Police dispatches for stolen cars this morning
Renton cars are being stolen at record rates in Renton. Our Valley Comm dispatch center shows twenty-one vehicles stolen in the past 24 hours. Many of these cars will be found extensively damaged and abandoned within days, having been used in commission of other crimes. Just one year ago I shared that Renton car thefts had increased 70% from the year prior, reaching 5 per day. Today’s rate is a 420% increase over that high March 2023 average.
If this rate of vehicle theft were to continue, Renton would see 7665 vehicles stolen in the next year, representing about 10 percent of all our vehicles and $100-150 million dollars in vehicle damages. (This amount of money is approximately three times Renton’s entire annual police budget). While the victims of the car theft suffer the most in these thefts, all Renton motorists will pay for this damage through higher insurance rates.
Many of these cars will be driven through the doors of local businesses, used in other burglaries and crimes, and driven recklessly through our city. In most cases, Renton Police have been forbidden to stop them. Unless officers see certain violent crimes being committed (and burglaries and reckless driving don’t count), the officers can’t pursue these vehicles under the 2021 Washington Police pursuit law.
There are some state legislators that somehow believe that having 21 cars stolen in Renton every night– driven recklessly through our city and crashed into our buildings– has made us safer because we are not put at risk by police chases any more.
As a scientist and engineer, I assure you these legislators are absolutely wrong about this. Since passing the law in 2021, Washington’s highway fatalities have been skyrocketing to the highest levels in decades, not dropping as these legislators over-simplistically predicted. Hundreds of additional state residents are being killed annually on our highways since the time the police were banned from pursuing stolen cars. While other states are getting safer, Washington is getting far more dangerous.
While our fatalities skyrocket, we watch powerlessly as unlicensed juveniles increasingly race stolen cars for fun, and criminals drive any speed they like. While the limitations on police chases have saved approximately three lives per year in Washington, this small gain is not nearly worth the hundreds of lives lost statewide, and the billions in statewide crime and damages. Tragically for our next generation, these policies are also teaching some of our youth that crime pays more than going to school and learning job skills, curtailing their opportunities to build the fulfilling, healthy lives we all want for them.
Our State Legislators are reviewing the police pursuit legislation this coming week, and Renton residents are encouraged to let them know how you feel about letting our cars get stolen with impunity. Also, tell them you want to be safe driving on our roads again, and you are getting tired of seeing the fronts of your favorite business covered in plywood.
You can email your legislators at the following addresses:
Senator Bob Hasegawa, Bob.Hasegawa@leg.wa.gov
Representative Steve Bergquist, Steve.Bergquist@leg.wa.gov
Representative David Hackney, David.Hackney@leg.wa.gov
These vehicle thefts all happened within minutes of each other. Valley Comm continuously updates the previous 24-hours of calls on it’s website, in this format. It’s not possible for readers to sort by call type, so I’ve extracted 24 hours of vehicle theft data in the table below.
Below is the extract of auto-theft calls to 911 in the past 24 hours, including the partial address where each vehicle theft was reported. (Note that there may be others: if a victim filed an online reporting instead of calling 911 to report their car stolen, it would not appear on this list.)
For more information on this topic, including links to additional source data, click here.
Police can’t do anything and when they do spend time chasing them down to arrest them prosecutors and judges won’t jail them
Dow is proud of himself for closing teen detention.
The leaders all take credit for lowering the crime rate. They haven’t lowered the crime rate. They’ve decided not to have people face the consequences.
So much so that citizens have stopped calling in crimes because they know nothing will happen.
Those 3 legislators always vote yes on bills that are detrimental to our city.
With the new generation of criminals turning themselves into feral animals I don’t think they can ever be pulled back now. They’ve gotten away with it for 2 years now and are very emboldened. Sometimes brutal because they also have guns in their hands.
The only people who could and definitely should have put an end to this immediately is the car owners themselves.
It’s not fair but it’s time for the adults to stand up and take back our city!
A few hundred dollars spent by each owner getting kill switches or any of the options available can protect themselves and all of the rest of us from being harmed.
Also, everyone needs to contact the legislators who make these laws trying to appease the few at the cost of many.
Directly email or go to the bill(I can’t remember the bill #) and mark that you oppose the bill that stops police pursuits, make your comments on why you oppose, check the box for all 3 of them to get your message with a request to email you.
Thank you Randy for keeping us in the loop with important information we can act on. I was sorry you didn’t replace Carmen’s puppet. Please keep trying.
Thanks for your comment Viola, and for reminding me to share the specific legislative action called for. To reinstate reasonable police pursuit authority in our state, we want the legislators to vote to pass Initiative 2113. (This is a citizens initiative, and the legislature has the option to pass it immediately, and not wait for it to go to an election. )
I agree that, unfortunately, car owners should take additional steps to secure their cars against theft. Doing so will not only help them keep possession of their car, but will also help prevent their car from being used for a crime. Five years ago they would not have had to, but today they should.
Anyone who can park their car in a locked garage should do so. This may mean its time to get a shed for garden tools and kids toys, to open room in the garage for a car or two.
For those without access to a garage, they should consider taking as many of the following precautions as they can: (1) A steering wheel lock (like “The Club;”) (2) install and use a hidden kill switch that can prevent the car from starting; (3) hide one or two trackers like Tiles or Airtags in the vehicle (or even a GPS tracker but those require subscriptions); (4) always park in the most well lit parking areas that are as close to people and windows as possible; (5) install an enhanced car alarm; (6) For Kia and Hyundai owners, install all recommended software updates. Of these, the kill switch and alarm system are probably the most expensive for those that don’t have the skills to install them themselves. They may need to pay a friend or shop a few hundred dollars to install each of these systems. The other items are less than $100.
I’ve heard that some people will even put a “boot” on their own car, like the kind Diamond parking lots might use if you overstay. But I don’t like this idea as much for regular use because if you forget it is there, you might damage your car when you start to drive. In addition, it’s not easy to install on a rainy night. It’s possible a boot might be an appropriate step if you are leaving your car for an extended time. For extended parking, it’s also possible to open the hood of the car and remove a key relay or other element as an additional precaution. A professional car thief could still take your car, but a teen with just a USB cable or a screwdriver trying to copy Tik Tok would not be able to start it.
My final tip is that all vehicles older than model years of around 1999-2000 share many of the vulnerabilities of Kias and Hyundais. Engine immobilisers are not common on older vehicles, so a strong screwdriver in the ignition can potentially break the lock and start the car. Here’s the test: If your car has the type of ignition key that you can copy at Ace Hardware for $2.00, then you don’t have an engine immobilizer and your car is a bit like a Kia in today’s climate. So please try to take some of the other precautions I’ve outlined.
How can we fix this when some on the Renton city council want to defund our police? One of them even said we should get rid of jails. Three of them want to keep fentanyl use legal.
We need to get better at calling out our electeds for being crazy.
If you have a car, it’s your responsibility to make sure it can’t be stolen. Having an older car isn’t an excuse, especially when you can get a $7500 tax rebate on a new electric vehicle that is almost impervious to theft and helps you do your fair share of mitigating climate change.
Be better citizens, and stop trying to blame our leaders. They already have given you the tools to change your own lives for the better.
How about we take criminals and then lock them up? That way the rest of us can live in peace.
So your solution to someone who is being victimized by crime it to tell them to by a newer car?
You’re victim blaming and should think long and hard before doing it again.
Unless a car owner leaves their car with the keys in it, I think the thieves and those who prevent the police from intervening are to blame for the car thefts. While I agree car owners should take precautions, it’s not the victim’s fault when their car gets stolen.
I’ve recommended steps that would stop or slow down youthful burglars, but unfortunately, there is no way to make sure your car can’t be stolen. Engine immobilisers can be circumvented by a professional car thief. Steering wheels can be cut to remove steering wheel locks. Alarms can be disabled or ignored. Even cars that have three kills switches and can’t be driven can be picked up by a stolen tow truck. Locked garages can have their locks broken, or simply be bashed into with a stolen truck that tows your car away.
Police need to be able to intervene, and under the current law they have very limited authority. Police can watch someone speeding away in your stolen car, or in a stolen tow truck with your stolen car on it, and they can’t pursue them. And of course you certainly can’t stop them; you would risk your life if you tried to, and it’s not worth it.
This is why 21 cars were stolen in Renton in 24 hours.