An Edinburg Police Department official says the police station offers free steering wheel locks to help protect residents from car theft.
The relevance of this information becomes apparent as there has been a notable rise in auto thefts over the last two years, according to Carla Bautista, a crime analyst for the police department.
“You’ll see that the majority of the Rio Grande Valley did have a spike,” Bautista said.
She said the most common makes of vehicles being stolen are GMC, Chevrolet and Kia.
Criminal justice sophomore Carter Lincoln said he is aware of the auto theft problem, specifically when it comes to the more vulnerable makes and models of cars.
“The GMC trucks and all those four-by-four trucks are all hot items right now,” Lincoln said. “I wouldn’t have anything like that right now.”
However, Lt. Gabriel Vela-Reyna, of the department’s Community-Oriented Policing Division, explained how any car can be at risk of theft.
“A lot of people think that there’s no way their latest model SUV is going to be stolen; it’s already equipped with an alarm and stuff like that,” Vela-Reyna said. “No. Unfortunately, there’s technology out there that gives [car thieves] an opportunity to take your vehicle.”
However, he emphasized how a deterrent, such as a kill switch, can slow down and ward off car thieves.
“Yes. There’s ways around it,” Vela-Reyna said. “But it’s too time consuming for the people that are committing these crimes. Time is not on their side, so they want a quick in and out.”
A common tool Vela-Reyna recommends to deter criminals is steering wheel locks, which provide an extra barrier of protection.
“The steering wheel lock is a very effective tool, even though some will say, ‘It’s old technology,’” he said.
In addition to these extra measures, Vela-Reyna said simple steps people can take to protect their vehicles include locking their car doors, parking inside garages and not leaving spare keys in the vehicle.
In order to inform the public about how to prevent themselves from being victims of auto theft, Vela-Reyna encourages residents to use the police department’s online resources.
“We made a video explaining how to properly install a steering wheel lock, and it can be found on our social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook,” he said. “We are always pushing out public safety announcements whenever we see anything that might be an issue.”
