ST. PETE, Fla. — It only took St. Pete Police one day to give away more than 100 steering wheel locks. The department received them from Hyundai following a string of car thefts targeting Hyundai and Kia cars. It's a problem ABC Action News first told you about in July.
Sgt. Cody Lance handles theft and property crimes for the St. Pete Police Department. He said in the last two weeks, they have worked 36 car thefts; 12 of them involved a Hyundai or Kia.
"A couple of months ago, we were hit by a nationwide trend of Kias and Hyundais being stolen by tampering with the ignition," Sgt. Lance said. "So they didn't need a key to steal the car anymore, which is something we hadn't dealt with for quite a few years in law enforcement."
SPPD received more than 100 steering wheel locks from Hyundai to curb the thefts.
"It's a big deterrent method because if you are a thief and you see it on the steering wheel, you know, you might be able to use some tools and power through it," he continued. "But why do that when there's another car somewhere else that they might be able to get into?"
To many picking the devices up, it comes at a time that they're on edge. Heather Dillman said she grabbed one because she's vulnerable to car theft.
"Somebody actually just got their car stolen a few blocks away from us," she stated. "And I have a Kia Soul. I just got it. So it makes me feel safer."
For Alissa Brinkley, the lock came too late.
"I got home at 11:45, and I get a call at 1:20 or 1:30 saying that my car was damaged on the side of the road," she said.
Brinkley's 2019 Kia Sportage was stolen.
"I'm like, 'this can't happen to me,' but it did. It can happen to anybody at any time," Brinkley said.
While Brinkley was signing paperwork to release her car to her insurance company, she saw the steering wheel locks available. Although she doesn't have a car at the moment, she said it'll come in handy for her next car.
"Anybody that has those cars, I will come and get one because I'm spending money now that I didn't really have to spend to get transportation to and from school, to and from work," she said. "Today, I had to call off because I didn't have my vehicle. And this was unexpected. So yeah, I will tell everybody come and get one because it's not worth it."
Sgt. Lance said using the lock is so simple that it only takes about 20 seconds. It's a piece of steel with a lock on it.
"You can extend it on the inside of your steering wheel," he said. "Essentially, this protrusion here acts as an inhibitor from you moving the steering wheel as it's intended to be moved. If you put it on the right way, it bumps into something essentially your car, whether it be your leg or the door, and you're not able to turn the wheel enough to safely or adequately drive the car."
St. Pete PD is currently working on getting more from Hyundai as well as Kia.
