‘Absurd.’ TikTok trend drives spike in stolen cars in Charlotte, police say

Julia Coin
·4 min read
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A TikTok trend is to blame for a recent spike in auto thefts in the Charlotte area, according to police.

Vehicle thefts have nearly doubled — 1,468 stolen cars in the last three months compared to 738 during the same time frame last year.

The influx in auto thefts contributed most to the area’s 7% increase in overall crime, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officials said at a news conference on its first quarter public safety report Thursday morning. The statistics compare reported crimes and arrests from the first three months of this year to early 2022.

While police were able to crack down on some crime hot spots, homicides still increased 26% and property crime rose 10%, according a CMPD news release.

The 1,747% increase in Kia and Hyundai thefts was an “absurd” and frustrating addition to this quarter’s report, Maj. Luke Sell of CMPD’s Special Investigation Bureau said.

The ‘Kia Challenge’ — a TikTok trend from the summer of 2022 — detailed how to steal Kia and Hyundai vehicles without keys.

It got kids’ attention.

Juveniles accounted for 95% of suspects arrested for Kia and Hyundai theft and 62% of all arrests for auto theft, police said.

Officers have hosted several giveaway events for locks that stunt thieves’ technology. While police leaders said they want to reserve officers’ resources for investigations, they also want to help owners prevent the crimes.

“There were 800 people who couldn’t go to school or the doctor today because their car was just missing for some random game or TikTok challenge,” Sell said at the news conference.

The department has noticed more kids getting involved with more serious crimes at high rates, he said.

Sell detailed some examples. Those include:

  • A 15-year-old has been charged with seven auto thefts and arrested 38 times.

  • A 16-year-old has been linked to 35 auto thefts and has been arrested 58 times.

  • One 17-year-old has been arrested 40 times and is linked to 76 crimes, including armed robbery and shooting into occupied dwellings. He cut off his ankle monitor — part of pre-trial monitoring and release programs — for the second time this month.

CMPD arrests up

Sell said juvenile arrests, especially those related to the social media-inspired car thefts, put a frustrating strain on already limited police resources. While CMPD is gaining 40 new officers from its latest class, police recruitment has been difficult in Charlotte and across the country.

Despite officer shortages, overall arrests were up 13% and firearm seizures were up 12% in the last three months, according to the news release. The department also saw a 6% decrease in violent crime.

The Alcohol and Beverage Control unit identified more than 130 gaming locations police say were hotbeds for crime.

Until recently, law enforcement couldn’t touch the arcades — which challenged North Carolina’s decades-long ban on gambling outside regulated casinos or the state-run lottery. A restraining order stemming from a previous court case had frozen police raids against gambling spots commonly called arcades.

Last year, the locations hosted at least 12 instances of violent crime, Sell said. This year, there has been one. Officers seized more than a dozen illegal gambling games, 10 pounds of marijuana, nine guns and more than $1 million dollars from the locations during recent raids and crackdowns, Sell said.

As an investigation by The Charlotte Observer earlier this year found only a dozen or so “fish game” or “skill game” arcades remain.

“Street takeovers,” where groups of drivers shut down intersections and roads to perform stunts like burnouts, drifting, and doughnuts, also contribute to Charlotte’s crime scene.

CMPD has made 11 arrests, issued 78 citations, and towed 34 vehicles linked to street takeover incidents since February, according to a news release.

Some crime stats drop

For the first quarter of 2023 (January to March) compared to 2022, CMPD reports a drop in robberies (5%),burglaries (3%), rapes (22%) and aggravated assaults (6%), according to the release.

Other statistics about crime in the Charlotte area:

  • Violent crimes: 1,629 incidents compared to 1,737 in first quarter 2022.

  • Homicides: 24 compared to 19

  • Armed robberies: 308 compared to 325

  • Property crimes: 8,030 compared to 7,289

  • Residential burglaries: 404 compared to 465

  • Commercial burglaries: 514 compared to 480

  • Larcenies from automobiles: 2,306 compared to 2,232

  • Arson: 30 compared to 31