Collingswood Police Investigate Vehicle Thefts

Sometimes vehicle thieves don't need much opportunity to make off with your car—consider, for example, the joyriding teen who allegedly took off with a neighbor's running Jeep when the keys were left in it.

But in most cases, police say, the best deterrent is to be vigilant and lock your doors.

Such was the case on May 27, when the owner of a black 2009 Toyota Corolla reported that his car was stolen from the 200 block of West Browning Road. The victim allegedly went outside to smoke a cigarette and discovered that his car was gone. 

Police said the man believed that not only was his vehicle unsecured, but that he may have left a spare set of keys was left in the center console cup holder.

The good news: his vehicle was recovered June 10 on Sycamore Street in Camden City, and towed to his Collingswood home, police said. The bad news: All the windows were smashed out and the car was reportedly in very poor condition.

Perhaps more disheartening is the story of a vehicle theft that occurred two days later in the 100 block of East Wayne Terrace. 

Police said that during the overnight hours of May 29, a silver 2005 Kia Spectra was taken from that neighborhood. The vehicle had been locked and parked in front of the victim’s house, and as yet remains unrecovered.

In the latest uniform crime report from the New Jersey State Police, Collingswood had four vehicle thefts in the first six months of 2013, just as it had in the first half of 2012.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the most stolen late-model vehicle of last three years is the Ford F-250, which has eclipsed the Cadillac Escalade "in the ranking of vehicles with the highest rates of insurance claims for theft."

In New Jersey, the top five most stolen vehicles remain the 1994 Honda Accord, 1997 Honda Civic, 2000 Dodge Caravan, 1991 Toyota Camry and 2006 full-size Ford Pickup. 

That's according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau "Hot Wheels "data project, which also noted in January that the most stolen classic car is the '70s-era Ford Thunderbird—so keep your sticky fingers in your pocket at the next Cruise Night.