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Car theft surged 20% last year, according to fresh FBI data — and a vehicle safety rating agency said models from Dodge, Land Rover and BMW were among the most likely to be stolen.

The FBI’s annual crime report published Monday showed there were 721,852 car thefts across the country in 2022 — up from 601,453 incidents in 2021 and 420,952 reported in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

Last year’s top 10 most-stolen cars were pegged by the Highway Loss Data Institute, which studied 2020 to 2022 car models and found that three Dodge muscle cars and two Kias made the list.

According to the list, earlier reported on by the Daily Mail, the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat topped the ranking as the most broken-into car in 2022, HLDI reported.

There were 6,128 theft claims in 2022 involving the four-door Hellcat — which retails from $81,040 for a 2022 model — while the No. 2 car, the cheaper Dodge Charger HEMI, was involved in 2,197 claims.

Infiniti’s Q50 midsize sedan came in third place with 878 claims, according to HLDI, while yet another Dodge model — the old-timey Challenger — came in fourth as it was involved in 766 theft incidents in 2022.

Rounding out the top five most-stolen cars: The high-end Land Rover’s Range Rover 4dr 4WD, which starts at a cool $95,150, had 611 claims last year.

Two additional Kia models — the Sportage 4dr and Sportage 4dr 4WD — and two pricier models, Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport 4dr 4WD and BMW’s X6 4dr 4WD, as well as one Honda CR-V SUV completed the top 10.

The Post has sought comment from the FBI.

Cops have partly blamed the uptick in car thefts on a viral TikTok challenge that encourages kids to boost Kia and Hyundai vehicles for joyrides — a phenomenon known as performance crime.

Popular videos on the social media platform teach people how to start the cars with USB cables and exploit a security vulnerability in some models sold in the US without engine immobilizers — a standard feature on most cars since the 1990s preventing the engine from starting unless the key is present.

Hyundai has reportedly tried to work with TikTok and other platforms to remove the videos, but new ones have surfaced nonetheless, and fresh waves of thefts have been occurring.

NYPD statistics released last month showed there were 24% more instances of grand larceny auto reports in August compared to the same month in 2022.

In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration blames the trend for at least 14 crashes and eight fatalities, but lawyers suing the carmakers say the number is likely much higher.

Police departmentsin at least a dozen other cities have said these motor vehicle-related performance crimes factor into an increase theyve seen in juveniles arrested for or charged with car thefts.

Still, criminology experts caution that the role teens are playing in the theft increases which began during the pandemic and arent limited to Kias and Hyundais may be artificially inflated because teenagers inexperienced at crime are more likely to be caught.

Either way, the stats show the dangers of social media content looking for ways to go viral.

Earlier this month in Milwaukee, a stolen Kia collided with a school bus, leaving a 15-year-old who was hanging out the window in critical condition. Police later arrested four 14-year-olds, one of whom allegedly was driving.

Another group of thieves swiped an unmarked NYPD car — a black Kia — in January and took it on a nearly 12-hour joyride before crashing in the Bronx.

Calls for accountability have been directed at the automakers. MLG Attorneys at Law, a California law firm specializing in automotive defect lawsuits, has received more than 4,000 inquiries from victims.

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South Korean court clears Wemade ex-CEO in Wemix manipulation case

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South Korean court clears Wemade ex-CEO in Wemix manipulation case

South Korean court clears Wemade ex-CEO in Wemix manipulation case

After nearly a year of legal proceedings, a South Korean court acquitted former Wemade CEO Jang Hyun-guk of market manipulation charges.

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Is there £15bn of wiggle room in Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules?

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Is there £15bn of wiggle room in Rachel Reeves's fiscal rules?

Are Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules quite as iron clad as she insists?

How tough is her armour really? And is there actually scope for some change, some loosening to avoid big tax hikes in the autumn?

We’ve had a bit of clarity early this morning – and that’s a question we discuss on the Politics at Sam and Anne’s podcast today.

Politics Live: Reeves to reform financial regulations

And tens of billions of pounds of borrowing depends on the answer – which still feels intriguingly opaque.

You might think you know what the fiscal rules are. And you might think you know they’re not negotiable.

For instance, the main fiscal rule says that from 2029-30, the government’s day-to-day spending needs to be in surplus – i.e. rely on taxation alone, not borrowing.

And Rachel Reeves has been clear – that’s not going to change, and there’s no disputing this.

But when the government announced its fiscal rules in October, it actually published a 19-page document – a “charter” – alongside this.

And this contains all sorts of notes and caveats. And it’s slightly unclear which are subject to the “iron clad” promise – and which aren’t.

There’s one part of that document coming into focus – with sources telling me that it could get changed.

And it’s this – a little-known buffer built into the rules.

It’s outlined in paragraph 3.6 on page four of the Charter for Budget Responsibility.

This says that from spring 2027, if the OBR forecasts that she still actually has a deficit of up to 0.5% of GDP in three years, she will still be judged to be within the rules.

In other words, if in spring 2027 she’s judged to have missed her fiscal rules by perhaps as much as £15bn, that’s fine.

Rachel Reeves during a visit to Cosy Ltd.
Pic: PA
Image:
A change could save the chancellor some headaches. Pic: PA

Now there’s a caveat – this exemption only applies, providing at the following budget the chancellor reduces that deficit back to zero.

But still, it’s potentially helpful wiggle room.

This help – this buffer – for Reeves doesn’t apply today, or for the next couple of years – it only kicks in from the spring of 2027.

But I’m being told by a source that some of this might change and the ability to use this wiggle room could be brought forward to this year. Could she give herself a get out of jail card?

The chancellor could gamble that few people would notice this technical change, and it might avoid politically catastrophic tax hikes – but only if the markets accept it will mean higher borrowing than planned.

But the question is – has Rachel Reeves ruled this out by saying her fiscal rules are iron clad or not?

Or to put it another way… is the whole of the 19-page Charter for Budget Responsibility “iron clad” and untouchable, or just the rules themselves?

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Is Labour plotting a ‘wealth tax’?

And what counts as “rules” and are therefore untouchable, and what could fall outside and could still be changed?

I’ve been pressing the Treasury for a statement.

And this morning, they issued one.

A spokesman said: “The fiscal rules as set out in the Charter for Budget Responsibility are iron clad, and non-negotiable, as are the definition of the rules set out in the document itself.”

So that sounds clear – but what is a definition of the rule? Does it include this 0.5% of GDP buffer zone?

Read more:
Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn
Tough decisions ahead for chancellor

The Treasury does concede that not everything in the charter is untouchable – including the role and remit of the OBR, and the requirements for it to publish a specific list of fiscal metrics.

But does that include that key bit? Which bits can Reeves still tinker with?

I’m still unsure that change has been ruled out.

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LA sheriff deputies admit to helping crypto ‘Godfather’ extort victims

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LA sheriff deputies admit to helping crypto ‘Godfather’ extort victims

LA sheriff deputies admit to helping crypto ‘Godfather’ extort victims

The Justice Department says two LA Sheriff deputies admitted to helping extort victims, including for a local crypto mogul, while working their private security side hustles.

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