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Jul 29, 2023

N.Y. car theft victims share their stories, call for change

Western New York residents are vocalizing their concerns at a community "call to action" meeting hosted by the WNY Stolen Vehicles Facebook group. "The disturbing rate here in Western New York, which

Western New York residents are vocalizing their concerns at a community "call to action" meeting hosted by the WNY Stolen Vehicles Facebook group.

"The disturbing rate here in Western New York, which is unfortunately number one in the country at the moment," WNY Stolen Vehicles group member Paula Andrea said. "This issue again, is not going to go away. We just scratched the surface. And so we really want to make some substantial and sustainable changes to our community for a greater cause."

They are hearing the many stories circulating nationally, with an increasing number of car theft for Kia and Hyundai owners.

"My own vehicle, a Kia, was stolen out of my driveway during the daylight with me and my child home," group founder Justine Link said. “I found the kids driving it at a stoplight right in front of me, so it put me in a very uncomfortable situation where I ended up pursuing at a safe distance until they stopped and got out and the police arrived. That at that point made me very aware of how helpless people feel.”

The problem appeared to start in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with groups of kids calling themselves “Kia Boys'' stealing cars and joyriding. Growing in popularity, the practice began to spread.

“I've had three cars stolen, my mom, my sister and myself, all at three different houses at three different times,” Link said. “So it's been very impactful. So when you're living in this and you're experiencing it, it brings a whole nother level of awareness of what this does to your life.”

It sparked Link to speak out and start the Facebook page, where victims have a space to share their experiences and resources with one another.

“We started in June when my car was stolen,” Link said. “And in those three months we've made a lot of progress since speaking with commissioners and the justice coalition members of the community that have a role in this, and we've amassed over 3000 members. So I think that's pretty good as far as getting eyes on this.”

The group turned Link’s story into a movement to spark change and call on more officials to find a solution as its auto theft numbers continue to soar.

“It's very hard to be in this position where people want answers, where sometimes I don't have all the answers to give and just trying to get an understanding and relay that to people in positions of power that can really make some change. Sometimes you have to be in it to truly understand the effects of it,” Link said.

Providing resources for its victims, organizers hope everyone understands how the issue at hand affects the community as a whole, and seek change to an issue that seems never-ending.

“We're proud of our city,” Andrea said. “We want to be number one in something, but not this. How many crises do we have to go through before something happens, before something changes? We've just been through so much, especially not just, you know, the world, but Buffalo specifically. We want sustainable changes to be made in education and awareness and let people know that our victims of this, or know of somebody, that they're not alone.”