Springfield has seen an increase in car thefts this year, especially in the last few weeks. Criminal Investigations Division Commander Jarod Maddox said thefts are up 27% so far this year.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Springfield has seen an increase in car thefts this year, especially in the last few weeks. Criminal Investigations Division Commander Jarod Maddox said thefts are up 27% so far this year. 

"The recent trend and the uptick is stolen vehicles and largely tied to juveniles," Maddox said. "That's the bigger increase we've seen, not necessarily just vehicle burglaries." 

Matt Fuchs lives in Springfield and has had two separate issues with vehicle thieves. First, someone took his car, damaged the area under his steering wheel and drove the car down the road. 

"When the police knocked on my door and said my car was stolen, I was expecting it to be like far away across town," Fuchs said. "But it was literally sitting there. Like they hijacked it, drove it down the block and ditched it." 

Fuchs has been trying to determine which repairs needed to be made and where to go for those repairs. But a few days ago, someone tried to steal his car again. 

"They ripped the handle all the way off the door and now it won't open unless you do it from the inside," Fuchs said. "It just stinks because we are left with all of this, the cost and everything." 

Fuchs said officers with SPD told him it can be hard to catch juvenile offenders because it is harder to keep them in custody. Maddox said they've seen teens be released and steal another car just days later. 

"There's been several arrests that are made and a lot of those are juvenile offenders," Maddox said. "The juvenile justice system is very different than the adult justice system. So juveniles may not be detained, whereas an adult may be potentially, which sometimes leads to repeat offenders and higher numbers of vehicle thefts." 

Maddox expects the number of vehicle thefts to drop soon, as the department has made several arrests lately. He recommends all drivers take extra precautions by parking in a garage, taking all valuables out of the car and removing keys from the vehicle when it is not in use.  

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