Bridgeport car theft documentary spurs lawmaker reactions

Some Connecticut lawmakers are responding to a documentary video that interviews members of the Connecticut Kia Boyz – a group of youth in Bridgeport who record themselves stealing Kia and Hyundai vehicles for Instagram – that has garnered over 3.8 million views on YouTube since it was released on April 20, fueling Republican criticism over crime in Connecticut and the juvenile justice system.

The roughly 45-minute documentary by Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan – who has done numerous similar videos documenting everything from the January 6th attack on the Capitol to the sale of xylazine and fentanyl in Philadelphia and people living in underground tunnels in Las Vegas – shows the youth breaking into vehicles, driving recklessly through city streets, out-running law enforcement, and filming it for social media views.

The youth, who have dubbed themselves the Connecticut Kia Boyz, smash out windows on Kia and Hyundai vehicles and use an iPod hook up to start the car – part of a security system deficiency that went viral on social media and led to a massive uptick in theft of Kia and Hyundai vehicles nationwide. While Kia and Hyundai will fix that security lapse for free at dealerships, the security hack has also led to a class action lawsuit and settlement.

Shockingly, according to the Kia Boyz, the stolen vehicles are sold for between $50 and $100 dollars and are often then used by others to commit other crimes before being abandoned.

“Watch the video,” Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, and Sen. Paul Cicarella, R-East Haven, and ranking member of the Public Safety and Security Committee, said in a press release. “It shows how criminals have not a bit of fear of being held accountable for repeatedly stealing cars in Connecticut. There are no consequences. That’s Connecticut’s new reality under one-party Democrat rule: no accountability.”

During debate on the House Floor over a bill amendment that would require juveniles arrested for particular crimes to be fingerprinted and adjudicated in the location where the crime was committed, Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, also pointed to the video.

“I, for one, am not willing to sit and wait while more juveniles are creating crimes in this state, not being able to be arrested, not being adjudicated. We’re not here today on the entire system, but I’ll tell you there are significant problems,” Fishbein said. “Anybody seen the video of the Kia Boyz? Everybody seen that? Stealing the cars, know that nothing can happen to them. Look it up on YouTube.”

Reached for comment, Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington, a detective with Stonington Police Department and ranking member on the Public Safety and Security Committee, says individuals are not being held accountable for crimes like car theft and that is contributing to higher insurance rates because the cars are often destroyed during and after the theft.

“At the end of the day, you have a bunch of people who are creating content stealing cars in this state because we have not properly held these individuals accountable. This has become the epicenter for it,” Howard said, adding that his sister in law’s car was recently stolen. “We’ve blamed victims for years, and now we’re here.”

The Kia Boyz video comes as car thefts in Connecticut saw a 33 percent increase in 2022, according to the latest numbers, giving Connecticut the third highest car theft rate increase in the nation. Car theft numbers have remained stubbornly high since the pandemic, even as other crimes which spiked during that time, have declined, and often it is juveniles committing the thefts.

Connecticut Republicans have, in part, been campaigning on crime, rolling back the police accountability law passed in 2021, and seeking to reform the juvenile criminal justice system to increase penalties over the past couple of years.

Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee said after watching the video that it was further proof that auto manufacturers need to “step up,” and pointed to regional task forces approved by the legislature to combat car theft.

“The video is a stark reminder that many Hyundai and Kia vehicles lack standard anti-theft devices and software, which has contributed to an increase in thieves targeting those cars,” Stafstrom said in an email. “Connecticut has passed legislation to increase resources for regional auto theft task forces to investigate car thefts and for the Judicial Branch’s diversionary programs. As a result, more of the individuals who are committing auto theft are being caught and processed. We now need the auto manufacturers to step up and install standard equipment to help prevent these crimes from being committed in the first place.”

Majority Democrats have consistently pointed out that crime in Connecticut is quite low compared with other states and has been decreasing following pandemic spikes in murder and car theft. According to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection’s annual crime statistics for 2022 , both the murder and car theft rates in Connecticut had decreased from 2021 and 2020 highs, respectively, but were still higher than in 2013. Nearly every other crime measurement was down or flat compared to 2013.

Car theft numbers posted by the Bridgeport Police Department show that vehicle theft is the number one crime committed in the city, but the number of stolen vehicles has declined from 718 in 2021 to 601 in 2023. The Kia Boyz video, however, shows the young men traveling to other towns like Milford to steal vehicles.

The Bridgeport Police Department did not return request for comment about the video.

Kia and Hyundai are not only facing class action lawsuits for the security failure but also investigation by multiple attorneys general in states across the country, including in Connecticut where Attorney General William Tong announced an investigation in June of 2023, when videos showing how to steal the cars went viral and spurred thefts.

“We have called on Hyundai and Kia over and over again to make this right and address the glaring public safety vulnerabilities in their vehicles. Whatever they have done to date is clearly not working. We’ve got viral videos all over the internet teaching kids how to hotwire these cars in a matter of seconds and glorifying reckless driving that has resulted in injuries and multiple deaths nationwide,” Tong said in a press release . “I’ve launched this investigation to force Hyundai and Kia to disclose every discussion and decision leading up to the sale of these theft-prone cars, as well as the costs and analysis of potential fixes. We are going to figure out exactly how this public safety threat came to be, and we will not hesitate to hold Hyundai and Kia fully accountable for addressing this disaster.”

“Property destroyed. Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians put in danger. Police being prevented from doing their jobs. Lawlessness,” Harding and Cicarella said in their press release. “Is it any wonder why car thefts have spiked 30 percent in Connecticut over the past year? Despite our repeated offers for solutions, specifically to curb juvenile crime, the Majority prefers to ignore the problem.”

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