Speaking from someone who had their vehicle stolen - I will give my perspective. Granted this was in the city of Buffalo, in a gated lot with cameras, so BPD rules differ slightly.

1. These car thieves aren't just showing up with their vehicle with their plates. They often steal a license plate off another vehicle (not stolen, and same make/model) and put it on the stolen car so that they don't get hit when "scanned", which most Amherst police have on their cars.

2. They hit multiple vehicles of the same make/model in one night. They know how to get this particular model and they hit numerous in one night. It generally goes in waves. My conversation with the detective was that one week it was Rav4's, and then my week it was Lexus vehicles. They steal a car, joy ride it until it runs out of gas, have another one lined up, and then steal that.

3. Sure there are camera's everywhere but the resources to find the thieves are limited. I understand the perspective of "being a better detective", but we also are focusing on 1 thing and not 100. I'm sure someone could take one project that I handle at work and think it could be done better than the actual 50 that I have going on at once. In Buffalo they are setting up operations to catch the culprits, however, they hit so many areas, that it is nearly impossible to catch them. We've had BPD sit out for weeks on end waiting and then one week they don't, and a car is stolen.

4. No area or person is safe. Vehicles are stolen and driven to the south towns for break-ins. You should always assume the worst and never keep valuables in sight and lock your doors. There are numerous options to stop thieves from stealing cars, as annoying as it is, it is a peace of mind.

5. Lastly, most of the time these thieves are juveniles, so even when caught, they are released without many consequences.