Ross: Save car chases for the movies
Jan 28, 2022, 6:21 AM | Updated: 9:40 am
(File photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
This morning we ran a story about the huge increase in car thefts in Washington state.
“From around 2,000 to 2,500 stolen vehicles per month, we’re now well over 3,000 and 3,500. It’s been about a 50% increase.”
That’s Steve Strachan, who runs the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. And he believes the reason for that increase is the new law that says the police cannot chase a car just because it’s stolen: “The word is out, and it’s leading to brazen disregard for the law.”
And that is bad.
But you heard how many vehicles we’re talking about here: over 3,500 stolen vehicles a month! Even if you gave the police unlimited power to chase stolen vehicles, are there going to be 3,500 car chases a month? Or anything CLOSE to that? I don’t think so.
So how exactly are car chases are going to solve the stolen car problem? They’re not!
Fortunately, it’s 2022. We have technology that follows us anywhere. Why don’t we use it on the crooks?
Newer cars have built-in location trackers. Why not have the state provide them for older cars too? So that we’re all protected?
But, Dave, what about my privacy? OK, fine, don’t get one.
But every cell phone has a “Find My Phone” feature and I don’t see millions of people being led off to the gulag yet, so why shouldn’t everybody have a “Find My Car” feature?
You press the “Find My Car” button on your phone, the cops instantly get a location … and they can just roll up on the guy while he’s in the rest area taking a pee. Surprise! No chase necessary.
But I have to admit my favorite anti-theft device isn’t high tech, it’s low tech and you can see examples all over YouTube of how it baffles car thieves, especially the young ones:
“While the keys were left inside the car, none of them knew how to drive a stick shift. So, who tries to steal a car they can’t drive?”
It’s still one of life’s deepest mysteries.
Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.