Minneapolis logged 1,054 reported vehicle thefts in January and February 2026, a roughly 35% jump over the same two months in 2025, according to Fox News’s reporting on Minneapolis Police Department data. Department officials have pointed to two internal factors driving the spike: chronic understaffing and a standing policy against chasing stolen vehicles.

The numbers break down unevenly across theft methods. Thefts of non-Kia and non-Hyundai vehicles taken without keys jumped 59% year over year, while ignition-tampering thefts of Kia and Hyundai models — the vulnerability at the center of a wave of thefts nationally since 2023 — rose 25%, climbing to 313 cases from 251. Thefts where owners left keys inside their vehicles were up 18%, to 291 cases from 247.

A Minneapolis Police Department spokesperson told Fox News the department “continues to be understaffed” and said its policy of not pursuing stolen vehicles sets it apart from neighboring St. Paul, where a more enforcement-focused approach has coincided with falling theft numbers. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara pointed to a separate factor as well, saying a citywide public-safety initiative called Operation Metro Surge pulled officers and investigators away from their normal assignments during the period, according to the same Fox News report.

Key Points

• 1,054 reported vehicle thefts in Minneapolis in January-February 2026, up roughly 35% year over year.
• MPD does not pursue stolen vehicles in progress, a policy department officials cite as a factor in the increase.
• Only about 3% of motor vehicle theft cases in the county result in an arrest, per the county attorney’s office.
• St. Paul, which takes a different enforcement approach, has seen thefts decline over the same period.

The trend didn’t reverse once winter ended. By May, Minneapolis police were reporting motor vehicle thefts running 24% higher than the same point in 2025, according to CBS News Minnesota’s review of department figures, and citywide totals for the year had climbed past 2,000 stolen vehicles by late spring, per a separate CBS News Minnesota report on Hennepin County’s response efforts. The city’s own MStat crime dashboard tracks the theft numbers weekly and shows the same upward trajectory MPD officials have acknowledged publicly.

What Owners Should Do

• Never leave a vehicle running and unattended, even briefly — keys-in-ignition thefts are up 18% in the city.
• Kia and Hyundai owners with affected ignition systems should check for and install the free anti-theft software update through their dealer.
• Consider a visible steering-wheel lock or aftermarket immobilizer, particularly for models built before 2023 without engine immobilizers as standard equipment.

With arrests rare and police unable to chase a stolen car once it’s rolling, Minneapolis owners are effectively being asked to treat prevention as the only real defense against a crime the department says it’s currently not positioned to stop after the fact.