Police report spike in thefts of Hondas, idling cars left unattended

Wichita has seen a spike in the thefts of unattended vehicles left idling and also of Hondas since the start of the year, police said Friday.

Thieves have snatched 61 vehicles that were left unattended with the motor running since Jan. 1, Lt. James Espinoza said. Many were stolen after the owners had gone back inside their homes to finish getting ready for work or school.

“Understand, the most important part of this is it’s not so much the car they’re looking for,” Espinoza said.

Typically, he said, it’s items inside the vehicle: purses, laptops, cash and change.

Locking idling cars isn’t proving to be much of a deterrent, Espinoza said.

“People are breaking out windows and still taking the cars,” he said.

Police have been able to recover 41 of the vehicles stolen while idling.

The bad habit didn’t start with the new year, Espinoza said. Auto theft detectives teamed up with patrol officers to conduct two auto theft prevention assignments intended to educate drivers in November and December. They handed out more than 67 fliers to motorists who had left their vehicles idling and unattended.

Although it is not illegal in the city of Wichita to leave a vehicle idling and unattended, a state statute forbids it without the use of a remote starter.

Some of the stolen idling vehicles have been Hondas, Espinoza said. But Hondas have been tempting targets in general for thieves.

Since the start of the year, 69 Hondas have been stolen. Data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau indicates Hondas between the model years of 1988 and 2002 have been the most popular among car thieves.

“We’re still seeing a lot of them,” Espinoza said of Honda thefts.

Drivers may want to consider protecting their vehicles with hidden kill switches, alarm systems or steering wheel locking devices, he said.

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Police report spike in thefts of Hondas, idling cars left unattended."