Philadelphia airport car thefts spike amid lack of cameras
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A Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Photo: Courtesy of Christopher Colburn
Months before two officers were shot during an attempted car theft at a Philadelphia International Airport parking garage, Christopher Colburn left his car at the airport and boarded a flight to North Carolina.
- When he returned days later, Colburn found another car in his spot and shards of shattered glass on the ground.
Why it matters: Colburn is one of more than 100 people who have had their cars stolen from the airport in 2023, per the Inquirer.
- "You felt like your stomach was ripped out from you," the 58-year-old medical consultant from Chester County tells Axios.
The big picture: Car thefts have dramatically spiked at the airport since 2019, when there were only two reported thefts over the same period.
- More than 18,000 vehicles have been reported stolen in Philadelphia this year, up 130% from the same time last year, the Inquirer reports.
Context: Airport officials acknowledge none of their parking garages have surveillance cameras.
- That makes the Police Department's investigations more difficult. Police had to rely on cellphone records to help track down the three suspects who they say were involved in the fatal shooting that killed police officer Richard Mendez and injured another officer earlier this month.
What they're saying: Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner told the Inquirer that the airport needs to prioritize installing cameras in the garages.
- The garages were constructed five decades ago "when cameras were not part of the infrastructure," PHL airport spokesperson Heather Redfern tells Axios.
The airport was working on a "multi-phased" garage project that includes camera technology before Mendez was killed, Redfern says.
- Redfern couldn't say when cameras will be in place.
Zoom in: Colburn was shocked to learn in February that the airport didn't have cameras to identify the thieves who stole his souped-up 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, which police never recovered.
- He says police told him that thieves have been targeting high-end cars like his partly because of their keyless entry systems. It was a big loss: Colburn says he paid nearly $100,000 for the Jeep.
He took the insurance money and bought a Porsche Macan. Last weekend he parked the new car at the airport for another work trip, even though the recent shooting has made him doubt his own safety.
- "I had never thought of carrying a gun in my life," he tells Axios. "After that happened, I thought, 'Is this what we're coming to?' "