MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A disturbing report from Memphis police reached the Memphis City Council about a trend in car thefts in 2023.
According to the Memphis Police Department, stolen car reports are up 139% so far in 2023 compared to 2022. MPD estimates that nearly 2,000 cars have been stolen in the first month and a half of 2023 alone.
Mark Amagliani, owner of Salon Liani in East Memphis, says this is the worst stretch of stolen cars he’s seen in 25 years.
“We’ve had numerous cars stolen, broken into here on a weekly basis,” he said.
Amagliani says he and other business owners in the Orleans Place shopping complex and along the Germantown line have been regular victims of the recent spike in car thefts.
“I’ve called the owner and asked for security here and they haven’t followed through on it,” Amagliani said. “They’ve tried to put in extra security lights, but all these things are happening during the day.”
On several different occasions, companies say their employees have reported to work, only to leave to find their car gone.
Amagliani says the last time one of his employees had his car stolen was in January.
“I was out here at 3 o’clock in the afternoon taking out the trash and I see a guy about 50 feet up and I’m like, ‘Hey man, you’re stealing my employee’s car!'” Amagliani said. “I just look, steal the car anyway!”
Shannon Barnes, who works at East Memphis Chiropractic, says her parking lot was hit several times in a short period of time in April 2022.
“First they came and broke into six cars, and then the next week one of the doctors was missing his keys,” he said. “The next week, they took the car.”
Barnes says they have a security guard on duty, but knows they can only cover so much ground.
Amagliani says businesses in the area take care of each other as best they can.
“As dusk begins, we start making sure our employees and customers are walking to their cars,” he said. “We always keep our eyes open, that’s about all we can do.”
Combined with the nearly 1,400 cars broken into during the same period, an average of approximately 73 cars are hit or stolen each day.
