14-05-2025
Police hope falling car theft trend continue in Sioux Falls
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The number of stolen cars in Sioux Falls dropped from 2023 to last year. However, police still warn people that car thieves are very active in the city.
On Sunday, someone broke into two apartments at the Dow Rummel Village and stole cash and two cars. One car was recovered, the other is still missing.
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8 out of 10 cars stolen in Sioux Falls are left unlocked with the keys inside. It's easy pickings for criminals. Sioux Falls Police say there are thieves, sometimes working in groups, just looking for this kind of opportunity. However, there is positive news: for the first time since 2018, car thefts dropped in Sioux Falls. In 2023, a record 1,600 vehicles were stolen, but in 2024 that number dropped to less than 1300.
That is significant because stolen cars are often used in other crimes.
'I think people have a misperception that these cars are stolen and get sent to a chop shop or parted out, that's the thing that you see in TV and movies. That's not what we are seeing in Sioux Falls. What we are seeing is people stealing these cars, primarily using them to commit other crimes, said Police Spokesman Sam Clemens.
In February, a suspect fired shots at a police officer while burglarizing a vape shop before running away. Turns out both the vehicle and the gun were stolen. And in April a man accused of shooting and wounding a Sioux Falls police officer on west 12th street and was later wounded by Highway Patrol troopers was driving a stolen SUV.
Clemens says the city of Sioux Falls's campaign to encourage people to Lock It and Pocket may be working.
'But we are talking 80 to 90 percent of the cars that are stolen are unlocked with the keys left in them,' said Clemens. 'Sometimes people leave it in a center console, under the floor mat, in a cup holder, it could be a spare key they keep their primary key with them, there's any number of different reason but people leaving keys in the car, somebody is going to come by and steal it that's what it really comes down to.'
Full-size pick-ups are a primary target for car thieves, but they will take any make or model if the keys are left in them.
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