Where your car is most likely to be stolen in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Corine Green woke up in Shadyside to find shattered glass where her car was supposed to be.

"I came out of my apartment on Wednesday and didn't see my car," Green said. "So I looked around and didn't find it."

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While there's been a recent uptick in car thefts in Pittsburgh's East End, Target 11 went through a decade of crime data from every city neighborhood and found a dramatic drop overall.

Thieves stole 720 cars in Pittsburgh in 2017. That's a more than 50 percent drop from 10 years earlier when 1,587 cars were stolen.

"Chop shops, back then, there was much more of that going on," Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said. "People were using them for joyrides and stuff like that, different designs in cars.There are a lot of things that factor into it."

Chief Schubert and Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich agree a number of factors have contributed to the decline, including more police officers on patrol.

"We have more officers out more," Hissrich said. "They're out stopping and walking the beat."

Hissrich also said social media is being used to alert neighbors about crime sprees in certain communities. He also said cars are harder to steal with advances in technology.

"People have GPS on vehicles and the thieves know that," Hissrich said. "There's many times we are on the radio at night [with] AutoStar. They know where the car is and the police officers make stops and the thieves know that."

While car thefts have declined over the last decade, they are still happening.

Homewood South saw the most in 2017 with 26 reported thefts. East Liberty followed with 21 car thefts. Carrick, Lincoln-Lemington and the South Side each experienced 20 thefts.

But some drivers, including Kashia Webster, said they're not concerned.

"When I go to get gas and stuff, I usually leave my car running and go into the gas station" Webster said. "And, people do ask me, 'You're not scared to leave your car on?'"

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