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Car thieves are back in the rivertowns.

Actually, they never really went away, but reports of brazen heists of often high-end vehicles from residential driveways are percolating up again—and finding some affirmation in police data.

Take one resident of Hudson Road West on the Irvington-Dobbs Ferry border. Earlier this month, he looked out the window to see that his Subaru Legacy was gone. He says he never leaves his keys in the car (though he seldom locks it), but this time, he admits, he did.

It was gone, and according to police, the odds of seeing it again are slim to none.

Two days later at about 9:45 p.m., an unidentified man jumped behind the wheel of a late model BMW X3 that was idling on South Dutcher Street in the village. He would have driven off until he noticed that there was a woman sitting in the dark in the back seat. The would-be thief made the prudent choice by bolting and jumping into the passenger seat of a waiting 2021 Mercedes that drove off into the night.

Not counting that aborted attempt at larceny, Irvington has had four car thefts so far in 2022—as many as were recorded all of last year. “It’s county-wide,” says Irvington Police Chief Frank Pignatelli. Tarrytown has had seven in the past year, using the village’s reverse 911 system last year to warn residents of a rash of thefts and break-ins.

Most are attempted in the wee hours of the morning, but at least one unsuccessful attempt in Rye, where 71 cars have been stolen in the past 16 months, took place in broad, mid-morning daylight, thwarted by an alert neighbor.

Twice in the past two years, The Hudson Independent has reported on this phenomenon—in September of 2020 and again in August of 2021—in both cases conveying to readers the advice offered by police:

Lock your car—even in your own driveway or on the curb in front of your house;

If the ignition is a keyless fob, keep it far enough removed so the car can’t be started remotely;

Don’t leave a garage door opener in the car;

Activate your car alarm if you have one;

Park in a secure or well-lit spot.

“These are 95% crimes of opportunity,” says Irvington’s Chief Pignatelli. Would-be thieves cruise residential streets in pairs after most folks have gone to bed and test the locks of cars—the higher the make and model, the better.

Beyond repeating the obvious points of advice, there is little police can do. Local cops have had some success looking out for cars that don’t fit in a given neighborhood—out-of-state plates (or no plates) on cars with sketchy people behind the wheel and in the passenger seat. The officers still need probable cause, however, and they must avoid the trap of racial profiling.

Keeping a lid on these thefts isn’t getting easier, as the bad guys are getting more and more creative. At one local country club, a thief donned a dress white shirt and clip-on bowtie, disguising himself as a valet who then drove off with a member’s car, never to return.

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By Barrett Seaman — The Hud­son In­de­pen­dent pre­sents “The Sup­ply Chain Cri­sis Is­n’t Just Global; It’s Lo­cal,” a se­ries de­scrib­ing how in­ter­na­tional man­u­fac­tur­ing and ship­ping woes af­fect every­day life in the river­towns. Read on for the fo... More »

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