Auto thefts continue to climb in San Marcos

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – Auto thefts in San Marcos continue to climb, according to data obtained by KXAN. 

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 3, 2024, there were 233 vehicles stolen within San Marcos. In 2022, there were 222 auto thefts, and 225 in 2023, according to the San Marcos Police Department.

Of the 233 vehicles stolen through December of this year, SMPD told KXAN that 145, or 62%, of them were recovered. 

“Region-wide, everyone’s getting hit with auto thefts up and down [Interstate] 35,” Brandon Winkenwerder, SMPD assistant chief over police operations, told KXAN in August. “San Antonio Police released that they had 19,000 stolen in a one-year period from May [2023] to May [2024].”

In order to attempt to curb vehicle thefts in the city, the police department received grant funding to establish an auto crimes unit within SMPD. The grant funds one full-time sworn officer to focus on investigating these crimes and ten license plate readers, according to city backup. 

The grant awards the department $177,401. To establish the unit, the city was also required to pay just over $35,000. 

San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge said in the Dec. 3 city council meeting he thought eventually the new unit might have two to three investigators focusing specifically on auto crimes.