KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was last July when Amina El Sayyed decided to stop at a shopping mall and get a little shopping done. But when she came back out to the parking lot, she says she got an unpleasant surprise: Her car was gone.
“There were pieces of the lock all over the parking spot,” said El Sayyed. “So, this is definitely where the car was.”
Her conclusion: “Oh my god, it was stolen!”
Those are the words heard over and over again in our area, a city caught in the grip of a car theft epidemic.
Kansas City Police Department figures show it’s been happening for years.
In 2021, crooks stole approximately 4,300 cars in the Kansas City, Missouri area.
In 2022, more than 6,500 were stolen.
Then in 2023, 7,500 autos were reported as stolen.
The increase is worrying for some.
“I’ve lived in Kansas City my whole life and I don’t want to be afraid,” El Sayyed said.
Experts agree, your car can be stolen anywhere. However, some areas attract thieves more than others.
So, to figure out where some of those “Hot Spots” are, FOX4 obtained thousands and thousands of stolen car reports made to the Kansas City Police Department.
For weeks, we meticulously analyzed the data and found 11 of the hottest car theft spots in our area:
Then, we enlisted the help of a security expert to see why these spots might be attractive to thieves. Our choice: Mike Barbieri of Global Intelligence Consultants with 30 years’ experience in law enforcement and investigation.
Our first stop was in Midtown at 35th and Broadway, a business and residential district. Here, 49 cars were stolen between 2023 and September of this year.
Barbieri saw factors in the neighborhood that might have helped the thieves.
“This area here, it’s businesses, people are parking their cars, they’re going inside to go to work, they may not come out until lunch time” he said. “So that gives a four-hour break there for people to go ahead and steal the car.”
The expert also spotted above ground, unsecured residential parking.
“They’re easily accessible vehicles, that’s what they look for,” he said. “Nobody’s going to go into an underground parking garage and try to steal a car.”
We then bumped into one neighborhood local: 4th District Councilman Eric Bunch.
“It’s unfortunate,” said the politician. “We know this has had a huge economic impact for Kansas Citians and a direct impact on people’s households.”
Bunch added that rampant car theft in our city is, “definitely a problem.”
The next Hot Spot: Downtown at 15th and Main Street.
Police data shows 49 cars were stolen here between 2023 and September 2024.
Barbieri noticed it had a feature that would attract thieves.
“And guess what you have here?” he asked. “You have the interstates, easy access to all the interstates.”
Reporter Malik Jackson asked: “And how much of a factor does that play into all of this – having the interstate right here?”
“It plays about a 100%,” said Barbieri.
Also, at this tourist attraction spot, Barbieri noticed numerous valet parking lots with no one around.
“There should be someone here watching to make sure no one takes the car,” he said.
FOX4 also found other nearby Hot Spots you might want to know about.
Just south of Crown Center, 27th and McGee Trafficway: 43 cars were stolen in this area in 2023 until September 2024.
Also, less than a mile away in Midtown is a stretch of Main Street between 31st and Linwood where 41 cars were reported stolen.
We also found more Hot Spots much further away.
One of them was near the south suburban location of 93rd and Bales, where 38 cars were stolen.
In the Northland, we found 78th and Roanridge Road, where 37 vehicles were taken between January 2023 and August 2024.
Then, there was East Meyer Blvd near Prospect, where 60 cars were stolen between 2023 and October of this year. Close by is the Research Medical Center, which has a large parking lot.
Our expert noticed the lot had a lot of “high-end” cars parked there. It reminded him of a common mistake car owners make in a location like this.
“Another thing that people do that they shouldn’t do,” said Barbieri. “They come out of the hospital, and they hit their fob.”
He continued: “Now if… I see the lights go on in the car… I know the guy is probably coming out of there and I have plenty of time to get to the car and steal the car.” Or, Barbieri added, to ambush the owner and take the car.
Finally, we return to the beginning of our story, at the mall near Ward Parkway and 86th, where El Sayyed lost her car to thieves.
Here police reports show 63 cars were stolen between 2023 to September 2024, something that didn’t surprise our expert as he looked over the parking lot.
Barbieri: “I’m looking at the tops of these poles where the cameras would normally be, and I don’t see any,”
Reporter Malik Jackson: “Does that shock you?”
Barbieri: “Yes it does.”
Barbieri says just seeing the cameras is a deterrent to thieves.
“I’d be very concerned, especially if I’m parking my car here and working here,” he said.
We found one mall employee who said it happened to him. Six months after the incident, he still doesn’t have a car. He asked that we don’t reveal his identity.
“Yeah, it doesn’t make it easy when the insurance companies don’t particularly want to help,” the employee said.
He said the theft happened on his first day of work when he was running late and didn’t put his “club” into the steering wheel, locking it in place.
“And I thought, ‘Well, it’s Ward Parkway Mall, I shouldn’t have a problem with this and – I was surprised to come out at lunch time and find that my car wasn’t there.”
We asked the management of the mall for comment on all of this and received the following statement:
“At Ward Parkway Shopping Center, the safety and security of our patrons and employees is our top priority. We take every single incident that occurs on our property seriously and are committed to maintain a secure and welcoming environment.
Our security team is dedicated to deterring any criminal activity and is closely monitoring all areas vigilantly. We are also working in close coordination with local law enforcement to further strengthen our efforts and remain proactive in addressing security issues.
We encourage our patrons to remain alert and report any suspicious activity to our security team or to local authorities. Together, we can help ensure that Ward Parkway Shopping Center remains a safe and enjoyable place for everyone.”
FOX4 also asked about the external cameras that expert Mike Barbieri couldn’t seem to find.
Mall management told us that they don’t have any:
“They don’t really serve as a deterrent and do not help resolve the situation,” it stated.
When we asked Sergeant Phil DiMartino of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, he had a different take.
Malik Jackson: “What is your response to that?”
Sgt. Phil DiMartino: “If we have video footage that includes what an individual looks like, or a vehicle that they arrived or left in, or a license plate – that gives our detectives a tremendous advantage in making an arrest.”
DiMartino adds that KCPD diminished manpower doesn’t help matters.
“We’re down 300 officers,” he said. “That’s not an excuse, that’s the reality.”
The result, DiMartino says: “We have to find some innovative strategies.”
Those strategies include using the same data we used for our story. He says this allows the department to surge resources to the places they’re needed most.
Police say it’s paying dividends, leading to the arrest of two “prolific” car thieves about a week ago.
FOX4 also pressed DiMartino on how there seem to be more arrests than actual prosecutions, something car theft victims have complained about. While he wouldn’t speak negatively of the prosecutor’s office, he was clear KCPD officers are doing the best they can.
“What I do know is when probable cause exists, and we can put a case together, they will submit them,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
