West Village, Dallas Uptown residents tired of thieves targeting cars

Stolen cars and vehicle break-ins have spiked in the years coming out of the pandemic.

Residents in one West Village apartment complex say they’re tired of being targeted.

Felicia Hansel’s car was stolen from her apartment complex in January. It sat behind a gate in a parking garage with cameras in West Village’s Thirty377. One of many vehicles she says have been targeted recently through thefts and break-ins.

“It is very frustrating,” said Felicia Hansel. “About 60 break-ins. [Thieves] love this place.”

This weekend more vehicles were hit.

Word spread quickly among neighbors online as people shared photos of ransacked cars and shattered windows.

According to a Dallas Police Department spokesperson, their data shows only 8 break-ins and 3 car thefts since Dec. 12, 2023, including one stolen vehicle this past weekend.

The spokesperson added they've increased patrols and police visibility in the area and encourage people to report non-emergency crimes through the Dallas Police Online Reporting System.  

While violent crime is down, the Dallas police crime dashboard shows stolen vehicles remain the number one crime in the city and car break-ins rank number three behind simple assaults last year and in the first two months of 2024.

DPD data shows in 2023 there were 18, 838 vehicles stolen and 13,517 reports of theft from motor vehicles. Downtown and Uptown were hit the hardest.

Detectives told Felicia her 2021 Kia Forte was likely stolen due to the TikTok challenge that led to an explosion of young people stealing Kias and Hyundais.

“It’s a crime. A crime no matter what,” Felicia said.

Her car was eventually recovered with damage to the steering column and the ignition. It’s now in the shop being repaired. She and fellow neighbors are calling on apartment management to step up security and ensure surveillance cameras are working.

“I feel unsafe and we’d for sure like to move from this place, although we love this place,” Felicia said.

The apartment complex did not respond to NBC 5’s messages.

Neighbors tell NBC 5 they’ve had two recent community meetings with management about the problem.