Re:Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts
by prepend on Friday May 12, 2023 @06:34PM
(#35923379)
Auto theft in Maryland is a felony. What are thieves being charged with that’s not a felony?
Re:Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts
by narag on Friday May 12, 2023 @07:22PM
(#35923756)
Sorry, it's been a couple of months and I can't remember the details. Is there a different threshold for minors? I don't know your legal system and maybe I "translated" what I was hearing with ours in mind. Or the article was about another state.
I do remember that the police officers were very clear that they can do nothing. Even if the arrest the kids, the DA won't prosecute them.
Re:Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts
by emodendroket on Friday May 12, 2023 @07:47PM
(#35923928)
Yeah, I'd take that with a grain of salt. Police officers always feel they're not being given free enough rein and their budgets are too low.
I didn't read it either... because I'd read a bunch of other articles and watched videos about the problem a couple of months ago.
IMHO the root cause is that it's impossible with current legislation/courts practice to deter this kind of behaviour. Specifically:
* Many of the perpetrators are minors
* Stealing a car, depending on cirsumstances, is a misdemeanor
* There is no mounting of repeated offenses
* Police can't keep the suspects on custody for long and prosecution is overkill for the results
So more or less, stealing a car is free. And instead of fixing the above points (maybe Baltimore as a city can't do that on its own) the "solution" is suing car makers.