MORRISANIA — Car thefts are on the rise in The Bronx's 42nd Precinct, and Hondas have become favored targets, NYPD statistics show.
The precinct, which covers the borough's Morrisania neighborhood, saw 99 cases of auto theft last year compared to 76 in 2013, and this trend has continued into 2015, with four incidents so far compared to one last year.
In a 56-day period leading up to Jan. 9, for instance, officers dealt with 25 cases of stolen vehicles, 15 of which were Hondas: eight Accords, four CR-Vs, two Civics and one Odyssey.
The thieves have often been snatching Hondas, according to Deputy Inspector Steven Ortiz, commanding officer of the precinct, because the keys are easy to duplicate.
"Sometimes when people get a hold of these keys, sometimes they share it with their friends, and it becomes almost like a fad," he said. "Let me see if I can get a car to go from point a to point b."
However, he said, it is tough to pin down one particular reason for the spike.
The high amount of stolen Hondas may have to do with the popularity of the cars, according to company spokesman Chris Naughton.
"While we cannot completely account for criminal behavior, it is important to note that the Accord has been one of the most popular vehicles in the U.S. for over 30 years, and in 2014 it was the best-selling new car to individual American buyers," he said in a statement.
Honda attempts to secure its vehicles by equipping them with devices like the Immobilizer Theft-Deterrent System, which keeps a car from starting without a correctly encoded key, Naughton said.
Many of the car thieves do not get very far with their new rides. Out of the nine vehicles that officers recovered in the 56 days going back from Jan. 9, two were found within the 42nd Precinct, and eight were found within The Bronx.
Police found the only car that made it out of the borough in the 17th Precinct, located in midtown Manhattan.
Officers are still trying to determine whether a crew is behind the rise in local auto thefts, although it appears that the suspects are mainly only using the cars to drive around, according to Ortiz.
"To me, that's what it seems like," he said. "They're just trying to rob for a joyride."
Commanding officers of neighboring precincts said they were not seeing the same spike.
Although auto theft was up 5 percent in the 41st Precinct in 2014 compared to the year before — 80 cases versus 76 — officers have seen no incidents so far in 2015, compared to two last year.
However, precinct head Deputy Inspector Martine Materasso cautioned that the precinct has started to see more opportunities for criminals to steal cars.
“We have seen an increase of people leaving their car idling as they run into a deli or something,” she said.
To avoid having their cars stolen, Ortiz suggested that residents try to park in well-lit, heavily trafficked areas. He also recommended that they add security devices to their rides, such as The Club, a steering wheel lock.
"Try to add some extra anti-theft devices to the vehicles," Ortiz said. "[The] Club would help out because then obviously that would make it a little more difficult for them to take the vehicle."
