For Young Thieves, It's 'Grand Theft Auto Real Life'

That Bloomberg Businessweek is taking an in-depth look at a booming business is not unusual. In this case, though, the business just happens to be illegal—car thefts. Just over 1 million vehicles were stolen in 2023, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with thefts generally surging since the pandemic thanks to what the story describes as a "vast car-theft underworld." Some of the highlights:

• Crews often recruit young teens or even pre-teens to steal cars in a number of ways: from dealer lots, in carjackings, from driveways with the help of black-market devices. They're so young they typically avoid jail time when caught.
• "Cops often observe that contemporary car thieves behave as if they're characters in a video game," notes the story by Jonathan Franklin. "As the police monitored communications from one suspect, he bragged about a recent heist. Texting another criminal, he typed GTARL. Officers knew what he was celebrating—Grand Theft Auto Real Life."

• About 40% of thefts involve drivers who leave their car running, or with the doors open and the keys in sight, while they make a pitstop into, say, a store.
• Roughly 10% of vehicles stolen in the US get smuggled overseas in shipping containers, with West Africa the most frequent destination.
• Organized crews sometimes bring the stolen vehicles to a surprisingly obvious location—a parking garage—to arrange showings and sales for potential buyers. The story details one such locale in Washington, DC, where high-end cars are common and new arrivals don't stand out.

Read the full story. (Or check out other longform recaps.)