Car thefts have spiked in Montgomery County by more than 20% in the past year as they have dropped across the state and nation.
Thieves stole 1,569 cars in the county in the year preceding July 28 — a 22% increase from the previous 12 months, according to data provided by Montgomery County Police.
The majority of vehicle thefts occurred in three areas: Silver Spring police District 3, with 444; District 4 in Wheaton with 322; and District 6 in Gaithersburg with 324, according to Montgomery County Police.
Police said they are working to reverse the trend but declined to address why car thefts are on the rise.
Car thefts have declined by about 8% statewide in the past year, according to Maryland State Police, and have been plummeting nationally, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Since last August, car thefts have dropped 25% in Prince George’s County, 20% in Anne Arundel and 51% in Washington.
Car thefts in Montgomery County had been dropping since 2023, when there were 3,366 stolen cars — the highest number since 2016. The county will fall short of that total this year even if as many cars are stolen in the next six months as in the last.
Montgomery County Police said car thefts are especially important to address because they are often connected to other crimes and the majority are committed by juveniles, many too young to drive.
In an especially tragic case this month, seven young people, ages 12-15, were in a car allegedly stolen from Germantown that fatally struck a father of five on his way to work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg.
Thaddeus Johnson, senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, a Washington think tank, said one of the reasons that may help explain Montgomery County’s jump in car thefts is that thieves are trying to avoid clampdowns in neighboring communities.
“Crime doesn’t really stay cleanly in one jurisdiction,” Johnson said. “People are so much more mobile and so much more transient.”
A larger problem
Montgomery County Police Capt. Cody Fields, the department’s director of media, said its Auto Crime Enforcement Unit approaches car thefts as part of a larger problem.
“A stolen car is not just a property crime,” he said. “These cars can be used for burglaries, for robberies or other crimes, more than just going to maybe a chop shop.”
Complicating police efforts to reduce thefts: increasingly tech-savvy thieves.
They are stealing vehicles with relatively inexpensive devices made for locksmiths and auto repair shops that intercept the signal of car key fobs. And on social media thieves can find detailed instructions on how to steal some models of Kias and Hyundais. Those influencer-inspired thefts have been a problem in Montgomery County since 2022, police said.
As of July 28, police had arrested 136 people — some more than once — linked to vehicles stolen in Montgomery County this year, police said. Among them: 90 minors.
It can be harder to deter juvenile car thieves, said Christopher Herrmann, associate professor in the Department of Law, Police Science & Criminal Justice at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“Since juveniles are almost always prosecuted differently than adults, there is not as much deterrence.”
How to safeguard your car
Even police employees’ cars get stolen.
Degan Bartels, a spokesperson for Montgomery County Police, said he woke up one morning last month to find his 2026 Honda Civic hybrid sport — which starred in an upcoming public service announcement about preventing car theft — had been taken from outside his Rockville apartment.
“I did what most normal people do. I just assumed I must have misplaced it. I was in denial,” he said, noting he was speaking for himself and not on behalf of the police department.
Though precautions may not stop thieves, they can reduce the chances they will target and steal a car.
Here’s advice from Montgomery County Police and AAA Club Alliance:
- Install GPS in your car if possible
- Use an older-model steering wheel lock, the kind that has to be cut off to drive the car
- Park in well-lit areas in view of video cameras, and keep valuables out of sight
- Don’t leave your car’s key fob near the front door of your house, and consider purchasing an RFID protector case for it
- Park with your front wheels turned sharply to the left or right, and apply your emergency brake to make it more difficult for thieves to tow your car
- Lock your car and windows, and do not leave your car fob in your vehicle unattended
- Park in a garage
Bartels said he empathizes with car theft victims.
“It’s super violating,” he said.
Alex Mann contributed to this article.
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