ATLANTA — It’s a statistic that jumps out due to the sheer numbers involved. The City of Atlanta Police Department said 1,795 guns have been stolen from cars since Jan 1. this year.
That’s over five unsecured guns taken from unoccupied vehicles per day.
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In November, the department recorded approximately 220 auto thefts according to their crime database. Based on the gun statistics, well over 100 of those thefts on average involved guns.
The police department has been warning people about this problem throughout the year and they said the numbers have not dropped. Channel 2 Action News has been reporting on the ever increasing numbers throughout the year.
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The city says they are not trying to discourage gun owners from anything. Rather police said they put the statistics out there to remind gun owners to secure their weapons when they are kept in vehicles.
Police are asking gun owners to either take their guns with them when they leave their cars or at the very least, keep them secure while the vehicle is unoccupied.
Officers said these type of thefts often carried out by people looking to commit further crimes. By reducing gun thefts, police believe it will help them reduce the growing level of gun crimes in the city.
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