A TikTok challenge to steal Kias and Hyundais made between 2015-19 has resulted in hundreds of auto thefts around the country and led to 14 crashes and eight fatalities. Online instructional videos showed how to bypass security systems in these models, which apparently are well-known for lacking the electronic immobilizers employed in most other vehicles from that time period.
Earlier this week, a youth in Columbus was involved in an accident with a police cruiser on the northeast side (the Morse Rd/Cleveland Rd. area if you are familiar). This youth was already caught 3 times in January for car thefts, and he was still out on the streets to steal more cars. Forcing prosecutors to actually detain repeat offenders might be a start (I believe the story I read said he had an ankle monitor device which apparently was either disabled and never dealt with or just ignored when he broke his confines).
Earlier this week, a youth in Columbus was involved in an accident with a police cruiser on the northeast side (the Morse Rd/Cleveland Rd. area if you are familiar). This youth was already caught 3 times in January for car thefts, and he was still out on the streets to steal more cars. Forcing prosecutors to actually detain repeat offenders might be a start (I believe the story I read said he had an ankle monitor device which apparently was either disabled and never dealt with or just ignored when he broke his confines).
There are a lot of problems leading to this awful trend. Lack of adequate jail time for crimes is one of them.
😮