Does governor’s anti-car-theft plan go far enough?

Gov. Kathy Hochul came to Rochester on Friday with a plan to combat the epidemic of car thefts in our community.

Within an hour of her visit, Monroe County sheriff’s deputies arrested three people for stealing a car and smashing into a Target store in Chili.

Paul Strom was next door at the AT&T store when he heard a crashing noise.

“Waited a few minutes to see what was going on and saw people rushing toward the Target store and went outside to check out what was going on,” Strom said.

That’s a reason why Strom said he hopes to see more patrol cars on the road.

“More patrols. It seems like there have been a lot of break-ins in different neighborhoods and people rummaging through cars. It would just be nice to see more patrols around,” Strom said.

Hochul touted a plan that will provide local police agencies with an additional $5 million to buy new mapping, drone, and data services while also providing cash to programs that both support juveniles arrested for car thefts and keep them in detention centers after being caught.

“The five-prong plan to stop car thieves in their tracks includes prevention, enforcement. prosecution, consumer protection and awareness,” Hochul said.

But Republican State Assemblyman Josh Jensen said for the plan to be effective, it needs to allocate more money to areas like Monroe County.

“If we are X percent of car thefts. we should receive X amount of money that is going to address that,” Jensen said.

Jensen, who represents the 134th district, also said the plan needs to make sure offenders stay off the streets.

“We have to ensure that we don’t allow this criminal element, this criminality to prosper, while the criminal justice system works through the process,” Jensen said.

In the meantime, Strom said he keep doing the things that have kept his family safe.

“I’m diligent with locking the doors. I always make sure my doors are locked. house and home and car,” Strom said