Stop making it easy for thieves to steal your car - that's the message from police in the city of Rye.

Authorities say that in Rye alone, 71 vehicles have been stolen from resident's driveways since January of 2020, with 11 of those thefts this past March.

Investigators say all the cars were left unlocked with the keys inside.

Along with the stolen vehicles, they also had 55 cars entered and property from inside stolen - again all unlocked.

Even worse, many of these stolen cars have been used to commit crimes in other area. Police say the suspects will lead officers on a high speed chase when they try to pull them over.

Some of the cars have been recovered from Hartford, Connecticut to Newark, New Jersey.

And the thieves are getting brazen. Recently four cars were stolen on two separate Sunday afternoons.

Surveillance video shows the crooks are usually dresses in all black, wearing work gloves with their faces covered.

Police say car owners are partly to blame for the increase in stolen cars. They say that because of lower crime rates, residents in the Hudson Valley are often lulled into a false sense of security and are less vigilant than they need to be.

They say while their patrol units are on the lookout, they need homeowners to lock theirs cars, even if it's in the driveway, take the keys, and don't leave property in view where thieves might be tempted to take it.