Laurel sees rash of airbag thefts

Twenty airbags were stolen from 10 vehicles so far this month

Twenty airbags were stolen from 10 vehicles through Sunday, according to police.

Hondas were widely favored by thieves, especially Civics and Accords. The only non-Honda vehicle hit this month was a Scion.

Collins said thieves usually target specific makes based on black-market demand. Hondas were also a common target last year, as were Chryslers, Collins said.

‘‘People who don’t own a Honda vehicle, make sure you stay on alert,” Collins said. ‘‘If you have a vehicle and it has an airbag, it has a potential of being taken.”

Individual airbags, which retail anywhere from $400 to $1,200, can fetch between $50 and $200 on the black market, Collins said.

‘‘It’s a little piece of gold sitting in your steering wheel that’s worth $1,000,” said Steve Rosenberg, owner of All Pro Car Care on Cherry Lane.

The safety devices are popular because they are easy to remove and portable, Collins said.

Although airbag thefts have been reported throughout the city, this month’s cases were concentrated in the Laurel Lakes area, where six were reported.

Millrook Lane, north of Sandy Spring Road, and the Van Dusen Road⁄Cherry Lane area were each hit twice.

Prince George’s County police through Tuesday had recorded airbag thefts from 52 vehicles in 2007, 16 fewer than at the same time last year, said Cpl. Diane Richardson, a police spokeswoman.

Richardson said the drop might have been influenced by a bust last year by county police of a ‘‘very organized” airbag theft ring that had been operating along the East Coast from Maryland to New Jersey.

Councilman Mike Sarich (Ward 2), who lives in Laurel Lakes, said his truck was broken into twice last year and each time he initially thought the vehicle’s airbags had been stolen, although that wasn’t the case. Sarich said repair shops that use stolen parts, such as airbags, threaten public safety.

‘‘The after-market parts that many shops use are not always 100 percent compatible with the passenger safety system in modern vehicles,” Sarich said. ‘‘This has led to serious problems with consumers believing their cars are safe, when in fact they are more dangerous than they would be without airbags.”

Collins could not pinpoint a reason for the spike in airbag thefts, but said he does not believe the warming weather is a factor. Thieves, he said, prefer to work during cold weather, which tends to keep would-be witnesses indoors.

Police do not have suspects in any of the cases, Collins said.

Larry Holder, manager at Fred Frederick’s Body Shop on Main Street, said his shop purchases only new airbags. But he said people working on their own cars have come in seeking used air bags. Used air bags can be purchased from reputable salvage shops, Holder said, but even then he discourages using them.

‘‘Most likely, if you buy [a used air bag], it’s probably going to be good,” Holder said, ‘‘But you have no way of knowing. There’s no way of testing it.”

Catching airbag thieves is difficult, according to Collins.

Thieves can remove a car’s driver and passenger side airbags in a matter of minutes and typically work between 2 and 4 a.m., when most people are asleep, Collins said.

Holder said whoever stole airbags from a company vehicle at his repair shop last summer was professionally skilled.

‘‘They took it apart like a technician would take it apart,” he said.

Even if a suspect is caught with an airbag, Collins said, if the airbag does not have a serial number, a great deal of investigative work is required to prove it was stolen. Car manufacturers are beginning to place serial numbers on airbags, he said, but most cars on the road today have airbags without serial numbers.

‘‘You basically have to catch these people in the act,” Collins said.

Even though they do not protect passenger-side airbags, steering wheel locks can deter thefts, since thieves prefer to steal two airbags at a time, Collins said.

Airbag purchasers can decrease their risk of buying a stolen airbag by frequenting repair shops that are certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, Collins said.

E-mail Steve Earley atsearley@gazette.net.