Fresno Police see spike in car thefts over the weekend

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- An alarming average of six cars per day are stolen in the City of Fresno, but according to Police Chief Jerry Dyer, that's down from last year.[br /][br /]Though the city has seen an 18% reduction in auto theft, this year to last year, there's growing concern over a recent spike. Over the weekend, 34 cars were stolen.[br /][Ads /][br /]Chief Dyer says, "members of our criminal auto theft team believe they have a handle on who this is. It's generally one or two individuals that are out of jail."[br /][br /]He adds there aren't any hot spots throughout the city, that thieves are targeting, but they are going for older model Hondas.[br /][br /]"They're easy to access with shaved keys and they become the vehicle of choice for a lot of these auto-thefts," Dyer says.[br /][br /]In addition to newer car technology, the departments Career Criminal Auto Theft Team attribute a two-pronged approach to maintaining a downward trend in car thefts.[br /][Ads /][br /]]Part one: identifying Fresno's most wanted -known for stealing cars on a daily basis, "and secondly we made an arrangement with the county to have five jail beds and we put the most prolific auto thief suspects in those jail beds so they cannot get out and continue to re-offend."[br /][br /]Chief Dyer went on to say he fears California's new bail Reform could lead to an increase in crime, "taking away bail means they're going to be out on our streets and increasing victimization."[br /][br /]When it comes to car break-ins, there was a 24% decrease.