Rim and tire theft is a crime plaguing the Middle Village, Glendale and Ridgewood areas, along with the rest of Queens, police from the 104th precinct said.
Captain Michael Cody, commanding officer of the 104th, has brought up rim and tire thefts at just about every community meeting he’s attended over the past two months.
He’s warning people of a relatively easy moneymaking scam where perpetrators will pop the rims or tires off of late-model cars and quickly sell them.
“It’s been all over Queens and up into the Bronx,” Cody said. “It’s going on basically because some areas here you have easy access to the highways and there’s good black markets for the rims and tires.”
Police are looking for ways to get ahead of the problem. The thieves are most often targeting Toyotas and Hondas, so the precinct has gone straight to owners of at-risk cars in some cases by pulling DMV records.
“We’ve identified owners of those cars in the precinct and crime prevention officers will talk to them,” Cody said. Cody also said he’s increased plain-clothes patrols at night and asked residents to call 911 if they see a theft in progress. He asked neighbors to contact the precinct or property owner if they see lights out on a block that would provide easy cover.
Because it’s such a persistent problem though, the precinct is investigating a long- term solution.
“We’re trying to find a way to ID the rims,” Cody said. He wouldn’t give any details because everything is still in the planning phase, but “We’ve got a couple of things in the hopper,” he said.
In the meantime, the captain listed small tips for making cars less easy to cash in on.
He advised drivers to park close to the curb in well-lit areas and turn their wheels into the curb to make it harder for a criminal to maneuver the tool used to yank off the rims.
“It’s also good to lock your car, period,” Cody said.
By Jeremiah Dobruck
