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Local police chiefs are urging owners of certain Kias or Hyundais to contact their dealerships or use steering wheel locks to avoid becoming victims in a spate of "performance crimes."

Thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles have been on the upswing across the county the past several months and have been linked to viral videos posted on TikTok and other social media platforms teaching how to start the cars with USB cables to exploit the security vulnerability in some models.

Those models were sold in the United States without engine immobilizers, a standard feature on most cars since the 1990s. The immobilizers prevent the engine from being started unless the key is present.

"It sort of spread across major cities of these guys on TikTok livestreaming themselves stealing these Kias because basically the manufacturer, to save money, has made their ignition systems very easy to defeat," West York Borough Police Chief Matthew Millsaps said. "In other words, it really is very simple to start the ignition on one of those cars."

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With a pair of needle-nose pliers or a USB cable, it takes about 10 seconds for thieves to start the vehicles and make off with them, he said.

"I knew it was an issue in other areas," Millsaps said. "I even saw there were some major cities suing the manufacturers for making their cars too easy to steal."

Local thefts: On Sunday, the issue came to West York when four of the vehicles were stolen in one night. Millsaps said one of those vehicles has been recovered.

Recently, Millsaps said he learned that York City has had a rash of these types of vehicles stolen.

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York City Police Capt. Daniel Lentz said there have been between 25 and 30 of the vehicles in question stolen in the city in the past month.

"We are in the process of obtaining steering wheel locks to give out," he said. "Once we have them in, we will put something out on social media."

Peace of mind for residents: Spring Garden Township Police are giving out a limited number of steering wheel locks from the manufacturers for township residents who want them. Owners of a 2011 to 2021 Kia or Hyundai can get one from the department during normal business hours. The department is located at 340 Tri Hill Road, Suite B. Office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday (it is closed from noon to 12:30 p.m. those days) and from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday.

The steering wheel locks are being provided by the manufacturers free of charge to local police agencies for distribution as a way to prevent these car thefts. Millsaps said when he heard about the thefts in York City, he was surprised he had not had any in his neighboring jurisdiction. That changed Sunday night.

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"That seems to be par for the course in this area," he said. "A lot of times, when vehicles are stolen in York, just any type of vehicle, it's usually pretty quick that they are recovered in a day or two. Somebody usually finds them somewhere."

Taken out of area? In this case, Millsaps said there has been a low rate of recovery as far as Kia and Hyundai vehicles are concerned.

"There is certain speculation that they are being taken out of the area," Millsaps said.

Departments sharing: Once the thefts became an issue for West York residents, Millsaps posted something about the availability of steering wheel locks and possible fixes from the manufacturers.

When Northern York County Regional Police saw his post, they offered the steering wheels locks to Millsaps for distribution in his area, he said, adding 15 people have inquired about their availability.

Northern Regional Chief David Lash received 60 of the steering wheel locks through a partnering agency that received them from the manufacturers. Lash sent 25 of them to West York Borough Police for distribution. Northern York County Regional has distributed 20 of the devices.

"They are basically affixed to the steering wheel, and it keeps the wheel from being turned by hitting the door frame or hitting the windshield which prevents the vehicle from being driven," Lash said.

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Preventative measure: Northern Regional has had one such car theft in its jurisdiction several months ago, but none since that time.

"We haven't experienced the theft rates that the other areas have," Lash said. "We thought it was an opportunity to connect with our citizens and provide them some additional service by handing out the locks."

With fixes being offered by the manufacturers, Lash said once the allotment of steering wheel locks has been exhausted, his department won't receive any more of them.

"There are some solutions, or some fixes that the dealerships can do," Millsaps said. "We encourage everybody who has one of these Kia or Hyundai cars to contact their dealership because there are open recalls on them."

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Millsaps advised people to have their car's vehicle identification number handy when calling the dealership to see if it is on a recall list.

Lash said steering wheel locks are only short-term fixes for the problem. He also said Kia and Hyundai owners should seek help from local dealerships if their vehicle is on a recall list.

Performance crime: Unlike some social media-driven trends that seemingly disappear just as police get a handle on them, the car thefts have continued. Hyundai has tried to work with TikTok and other platforms to remove the videos, but as new ones surface, fresh waves of thefts occur, illustrating the lingering effects of dangerous content that gains traction with teens looking for ways to go viral.

It's a phenomenon known as performance crime. Police departments in a dozen cities have said it factors into an increase in juveniles charged with car thefts. Still, criminology experts caution that the role teens are playing in the thefts — which began during the pandemic and aren't limited to Kia and Hyundai — may be artificially inflated because teenagers inexperienced at crime are more likely to be caught.

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Attorneys general from 17 states have called on federal regulators to issue a mandatory recall, arguing the voluntary software fixes issued by the companies aren't enough. Multiple cities including Baltimore, Milwaukee and New York have filed or announced plans to join legal action against the automakers, which also are facing class-action and civil lawsuits from consumers like Neal. One such lawsuit was settled for roughly $200 million.

The National Highway and Safety Administration blames the trend for at least 14 crashes and eight fatalities, but lawyers suing the carmakers say the number is likely much higher.

— The Associated Press has contributed to this report.