Ohio among Top 10 states with most car thefts; protecting your ride from thieves

You are more likely to get your car stolen in Ohio than almost anywhere else in the country. Ohio is in the Top 10 or bottom 10 of states in stolen vehicles per capita.

News Center 7′s Mike Campbell has followed the plague of car thefts for more than two years now.

It’s hard to explain how big an impact losing your ride has on your life. Campbell spoke to police about the problem and with a couple that is still dealing with the headaches two months after someone stole their car from a gas station parking lot.

Terence Morris, said, “When I pulled up, I didn’t see nobody. So, then I’m walking, and I walk out the door and my car is gone.”

Terence and Millie Morris are typical car theft victims. First surprised, then upset, angry, frustrated, and finally, close to hopeless.

The Morris’ car was stolen on May 17. They went and obtained surveillance video from the gas station. It shows a man in an orange vest hanging around the parking lot, watching Terence walk into the store.

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The video continues to show the man hanging around and then heading straight for the 2009 white Toyota Camry. Terence and Millie haven’t seen the vehicle since.

They have also not heard anything from investigators that gives them any hope of getting their vehicle back. It’s the same story police departments across the county and state hear over and over.

William Olinger with Huber Heights Police said, “Our big concern is always public safety, so we want you to be safe. We don’t want these cars on the street.”

Olinger focuses a lot of his time trying to track down stolen cars but said the better approach is for all of us to focus on stopping car thefts.

“The unfortunate thing is that there’s a lot of things we can do to curb that issue,” Olinger said.

He said too many of us become targets and victims because we don’t protect ourselves.

“As soon as they see a car door pop, that’s game on,” Olinger said. He continued by saying too many of us leave our cars unlocked too many times, often with valuables in plain sight. Not to mention, leaving our key fobs inside, even if they are hidden out of sight.

“They are pushing the push button and when the car starts it’s because we leave our key fob in there. It’s going to start,” Olinger said.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau or NICB studies car thefts extensively. They found that car thefts increased for the fifth straight year. More than a million cars were stolen nationwide, the second straight year over a million.

The NICB, not surprisingly, discovered California, Texas, and Florida had the highest numbers. But unfortunately, Ohio made the Top 10, slotting in at No. 8 with more than 31.000 cars stolen state-wide.

“And it’s so depressing, we just want our car back. Thank God for the one we have. It wasn’t his take, it’s really sad,” Millie Morris said.

Terence and Millie had to pay to get another car so they could both get to work. It’s put them in a tough spot paying other bills. They said victims are not simple statistics, but a family fighting for survival.

“Thieves don’t realize what they’re doing to the people they’re taking it from,” Terence Morris said.

Several police agencies, including Dayton, formed the Auto Theft Suppression Task Force in October 2022. While they have been successful in getting many cars back to owners, many times those vehicles have heavy damage and anything we can do to protect our vehicle is the best bet to avoid being victimized.