Austin crime rates on the rise

            City officials and Austin Police have teamed up for a program to combat vehicle theft in the city.

            Police reports show thousands of cars are stolen in Austin each year. The city of Austin is combating this with a special task force designed to educate the public about what they can do to protect their vehicles.

According to Austin officials cars 

parked on the side of the road on 

Riverside are highly targeted by thieves.

            The Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA) met Wednesday to address burglary of motor vehicles in the Austin area. The ABTPA oversees the impact of auto theft in Texas and provides financial support to fight it. 

            In the agency meeting, ABTPA Director Charles Caldwell provided statistics and projected an interactive crime map, which indicated an increase in crime rates in Austin. Among reported incidents assault, burglary and robbery are on the rise. According to the map, crime rates have spiked in Downtown, Riverside and West Campus.

            One plan of action the agency has implemented to decrease crime, particularly in the Riverside area, is the use of bait cars. According to police reports, bait cars are vehicles fitted with high-tech video and audio recording devices that are put in areas where theft is rampant. As soon as a thief breaks in and starts the ignition, the engine is disabled and the doors are locked. A silent alarm notifies nearby police who, using the built-in GPS system, then take action.

            Austin Police Department’s bait car program and the auto theft unit is under high scrutiny from the media and the public. However, Bait Car Program research shows the modified vehicles designed to trap car thieves have reduced vehicle theft by more than 50 percent.

            “New electronic signs up around the city warn criminals that a bait car may be in the area to deter thieves,” Caldwell said.

            Toryn Johnson, University Villages Property and Leasing Manager, welcomes the new measures to combat crime that have been put in place in the Riverside area.

            “I think this will help keep our students safe and make them feel more at ease about where they are living,” Johnson said.

Signs have been posted throughout apartment 

complexes on Riverside to warn residents of 

burglaries in the area.

            Austin police have also installed signs throughout apartment complexes in the Riverside area warning residents to lock their cars, take their valuables and not leave anything in sight in your car.

            Not all Riverside residents are at ease with the new measures put in place.

            “I still do not feel safe knowing that crime is on the rise here,” said Jaila Allen, a University Villages resident. “Seeing the warning signs about theft is only making me feel more uncomfortable.”

            David McDonald, a University Estates resident living in the Riverside area, said he pays attention to crime in his neighborhood. “How the police and city officials handle the crime in this area will determine where I choose to live this coming school year,” said McDonald.

            As a part of the program, Caldwell hopes the signs will make thieves think twice about targeting cars where the signs are located.

            The signs have been up just a few weeks, but some have asked if the signs simply push criminals toward their neighborhood.