TEMPLE HILLS, Md. — It only takes a matter of seconds for thieves to steal your car. That's the message the Prince George's County Police Department is sharing with the community, warning of a rise in jump-in car thefts.
Earlier this week, the police department shared a clip from surveillance video from a gas station in Temple Hills. In the video, a woman can be seen leaving her car to go inside the gas station. As soon as she turns her a dark-colored car pulls up beside the car, and a man can be seen jumping into her car and speeding off. When the woman comes back out of the gas station, her car is nowhere to be found.
The whole incident took just nine seconds.
Prince George's County Police want drivers to be aware, warning not to leave cars running and unattended.
"Criminals are looking for these vehicles to steal," the police department said.
Police said jump-in car thefts are on the rise in the county. So far in 2021, Prince George's County Police have received 561 jump in thefts. Over the same time period last year, the number was 347.
Prince George's County has been dealing with a rash of carjackings over the past year, dating back to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve noticed an increase in carjackings as early as – as far back as May of 2020,” Cpl. Nicholas Clayton, a spokesperson with the Prince George’s County Police Department said.
PGPD is a part of a multijurisdictional carjacking task force headed by federal and local prosecutors in the D.C. area.
The department dedicated 27 detectives to investigating the crimes when they occur and has a covert task force within its own agency to help prevent carjackings.
RELATED: With the uptick in carjackings in Prince George's Co., this new ad wants to spread awareness
Sign up for the Get Up DC newsletter: Your forecast. Your commute. Your news.
Sign up for the Capitol Breach email newsletter, delivering the latest breaking news and a roundup of the investigation into the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021.