Cleveland police to offer anti-theft devices for Kia, Hyundai cars

** Watch prior coverage in the player above of vehicle anti-theft devices being offered to Kia and Hyundai owners in Parma and Strongsville.

CLEVELAND (WJW) — Cleveland police are encouraging residents who own Kia and Hyundai vehicles to buy anti-theft devices, amid a rash of thefts taking advantage of the cars’ security vulnerabilities and a rise in violent crimes committed with the vehicles.

“As you are all aware, Kia and Hyundai thefts are prevalent within our district and city,” reads a Tuesday Facebook post from Second District Lt. Stephen Beckner.

“This is not unique to Cleveland, but something that we are dealing with daily. The thefts are occurring on every corner of the district. What’s more troubling, is that the violent crime that is occurring is more times than not involving one of these stolen vehicles. Additionally, accidents are occurring due to the occupants of these vehicles ‘joy riding’ and wrecking either carelessly or on purpose, because there are no perceived repercussions for their actions, which in turn victimizes more residents.”

The Kia and Hyundai cars at-risk of theft are those built between 2011 and 2021, which do not contain immobilizer anti-theft devices, allowing the cars to be stolen with just a USB cable and a screwdriver.

The police division received 80 free anti-theft devices — known as The Club — from Hyundai that lock the vehicles’ steering wheels, making theft more difficult. All were claimed by verified owners the day they were received. More are on the way, officers said, but they don’t know when they’ll arrive.

Second District residents are asked to watch their streets for Kia or Hyundai vehicles that they don’t recognize and let the police know about them by calling the department’s non-emergency line at 216-621-1234.

“I promise you that we are gathering more and more information on these situations daily, and are analyzing different ways to stop this behavior departmentally,” Beckner wrote. “A big help would be if residents with these cars each acquired a Club anyway that they can.”

Elsewhere in the city, First District investigators need the public’s help identifying the person who stole a Kia on Saturday on the city’s west side.