Police Warn of Uptick in Car Thefts in Dayton, Ohio

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Police in a southwest Ohio city are warning residents of an increase in vehicle thefts.

The Dayton Daily News reports Dayton Sgt. John Riegel says many car theft victims who left their vehicles running. He says it’s against the law to leave vehicles running unattended.

The department estimates that 70 percent of the vehicle thefts that have occurred on the city’s west side in recent years involve vehicles that were left running, mainly at gas stations.

Riegel says the thieves are mainly teenagers and warned would-be thieves that every car they get in could be operated by police officers.

The department says it’s been successful in catching thieves through the “bait car.”