Auto thefts drop across North Texas, the I-Team finds
After several years of skyrocketing numbers, auto thefts have fallen across Texas. Reports from the Texas Department of Public Safety show an overall decrease of 17% from 2023 to 2024, and the I-Team analyzed data to find some local cities reporting even better results.
Dallas sees decrease in stolen cars
For example, Dallas experienced a 23% decline, with numbers continuing to fall in early 2025. The police department credits the decrease to several efforts, including faster intake of reports and an increase in cameras across the city. According to Major Raymario Sanchez, state funding paid for an additional 200 Flock cameras along streets and intersections, which alert officers to stolen vehicles in real time.
"Wherever it hits in the city, let's say it's 75 and Northwest highway, it will notify the officer that's where the vehicle's at," Sanchez said. "And they can track it from there and follow behind once they get with it."
Auto theft hot spots
While the numbers are down, thieves are targeting a new set of hot spots in the city. Sanchez said the area around the NorthPark Center mall used to top the list, but now that distinction goes to Bishop Arts. Employees in that area said a few of the recent thefts involved gig workers.
"A lot of delivery drivers who are here to pick up their food will just run in," said Bethany Mieth, the owner of Oasis Plant Shop. She said with limited parking, some drivers leave their cars in the street. "And I think people will just wait, and they'll jump in and take their car."
Here are the current hot spots for auto thefts in Dallas, according to DPD:
- Bishop Arts area
- Technology and Northwest Highway area
- Exall Park area
- Kessler Plaza area
- Pinnacle Point Drive area
The I-Team compiled data from dozens of cities to build this map showing changes from 2023 to 2024.
Tracking thieves
Cameras are also helping bring down the crime in White Settlement, where auto thefts fell 26%.
"You can't enter our city without being on a camera," said Chris Cook, the police chief. "I'll give credit to the team, they're really working hard. When those Flock hits alert on a stolen vehicle, they're going after it, even if it's not stolen here."
Cook said grants from the state helped pay for extra manpower to target the hot spots in the city, including the hotels and motels.
"We pair officers together and they can work overtime," said Cook. "And they were concentrating, really saturating those areas."
Owners fight back
The I-Team found it's not just police, but vehicle owners are also stepping up security with a mix of new and old technology. At a recent car meet-up in Keller, people said they used a range of tools to keep their cars secure, from kill switch devices and Apple AirTags to The Club, a steering wheel locking device.
In Dallas, the I-Team met a man who said his anti-theft system has prevented thieves from stealing his truck at least four times. The technology, from Texas-based company Ravelco, is a twist on a kill switch and has been around since the 1970s. The only way to start the vehicle is by plugging in a cap that completes electrical circuits, allowing the engine to turn over.
"It takes them too long to figure out what the combination would be to complete the circuits," Neuman said. "Thieves don't want to spend that much time trying to figure out how to steal your vehicle."
He showed the I-Team surveillance video of the last time thieves attempted to steal his truck from his driveway in March. It shows four men armed with guns and a tablet spend more than three minutes trying to start the pickup. At one point, two of them aim their guns at Neuman's front door.
Neuman had no idea what was happening at the time, but he said the video is unsettling.
"My girls' bedrooms are at the front of the house," he said. "When you see video of someone pointing guns at your front door and at the bedrooms of your kids, you get really scared."
