Officials hope new laws will curb rise in auto thefts in metro Detroit

Officials hope new laws will curb rise in auto thefts in metro Detroit – The Oakland Press

Perhaps the life of Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Bradley Reckling could have been spared if new laws passed this year had been passed three years earlier.

Reckling, a Romeo native, was shot and killed last June while investigating an SUV on Detroit’s east side where the thief or thieves used the AutoProPad device to steal it.

“It hit us,” said Troy Police Officer Joe Morgan, a member of the multi-jurisdictional Special Investigations Unit in Oakland County, referring to the death of Reckling, who was a member of the unit.

Marquis Lamar Goins of Detroit, and Karim Blake Moore and Raymone Raylee Debose, both of Clinton Township, have been charged with murder in Wayne County.

New laws that came into effect last month make it a crime to possess or use the AutoProPad device for the unlawful purpose of stealing vehicles that use the push-button start system. Under the laws, it is a five-year felony to possess such a device and a ten-year felony to use the device to steal a vehicle.

autopropad

Similar bills were defeated in the Senate by a single vote three years ago, after Morgan co-sponsored the bills with Republican Sen. Jim Runestad.

Morgan revived his efforts last year, and the result was Democratic state representatives. Denise Mentzer of Mount Clemens Democrat and Alabas Farhat of Dearborn introduced the bills and helped get them passed.

They were signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in July.

The devices are legitimately used by locksmiths, mechanics and car dealers to unlock and start vehicles for owners who have lost their key fobs.

But they have largely contributed to a substantial increase in car thefts in Michigan, going from about 21,000 in 2021 to more than 25,000 in 2022, according to Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham.

“One estimate is that 85 to 90% of those vehicles are stolen if they were made after 2018 using the ProPad,” Wickersham said.

There is also an Autel branded version of the device.

Thieves use the device after breaking into a vehicle. They link it to the vehicle’s computer system and transfer the key information to a blank key fob they brought with them, officials said.

Morgan said car theft is now more common than ever.

“I’ve never seen it like it is now,” Morgan said. “It’s crazy.”

Groups of car thieves use ProPads and Autels to steal multiple vehicles at once from parking lots, including new car parking lots at auto factories and from employee parking lots at those factories, in addition to thefts from vehicles parked at homes or other parking lots, he said.

“They are used by organized crime groups,” said Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham. “We have seen in the past that these groups recruit young people to go in and steal these cars because they are not afraid that they will end up in jail or prison.

“Michigan is one of the states with the highest car theft rates, and this is one of the reasons for that,” Runestad said. “The cost of insurance is exploding.”

Thieves mainly target “high-end, fast cars,” such as Chargers and other vehicles equipped with powerful engines, said Sgt. Cameron Wright of the Macomb Auto Theft Squad.

Several other officials gathered Monday at the Macomb County Communications and Technology Center in Mount Clemens to discuss the law’s enactment.

“This is big for protecting our community,” Mentzer said.

Officials noted that auto theft is not an isolated crime. Criminals often steal vehicles to commit other crimes, and stolen vehicles often result in dangerous high-speed chases.

Officials hope the new charges that could be added to someone accused of auto theft will increase penalties for offenders and prevent them from reoffending, serving as a deterrent.

Fahrat noted that when someone’s vehicle is stolen, he or she not only loses a valuable asset, “but also takes away your ability to have independence in life.”

Wickersham said the laws will help officers prevent car theft by giving them leverage against someone scouting a location to steal.

State Senator Jim Runestad of Oakland County, accompanied by state representatives. Alabas Farhat of Dearborn and Denise Mentzer of Mount Clemens, talk about laws that make it illegal to own an AutoProPad for illegal purposes – to steal vehicles. JAMESON COOK – THE MACOMB DAILY

“The hope is that this new law will improve the law’s ability to investigate these crimes,” he said. “If you find someone at two o’clock in the morning who has found a cartel at a dealership or in an area with a lot of new cars, and discover that he or she is in possession of a ProPad, the officer will have the opportunity to to arrest, to bring in, to interrogate, to obtain information to prevent vehicles from being stolen.

Runestad he also hopes to collaborate with AutoProPad and Autel manufacturing to develop security measures on the devices.

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, whose office hosted the event, praised lawmakers for their efforts.