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Dellwood gives free steering wheel locks to residents amid car theft spike

"We have chosen to provide this free service to our residents to help address a growing regional problem."

DELLWOOD, Mo. — This week, if you live in the city of Dellwood, you're eligible to get a free steering wheel lock.

It’s all part of an effort made possible by the city's mayor.

Dellwood Mayor Reggie Jones posted an announcement alerting residents that the city purchased anti-theft steering wheel locks for residents as a result of a spike in car thefts across the region.

Dellwood's mayor and board of aldermen have agreed to allocate ARPA funds to buy the steering wheel clubs.

To sign up to receive a lock, residents have to visit Dellwood City Hall with a copy of their ID, which must have a Dellwood address on it.

One wheel lock will be given per ID shown, with a maximum of two steering wheel locks per household.

Dellwood residents can pick up the locks at Dellwood City Hall. The city said residents will be called for pick-up in the order of signing up.

RELATED: Man given Hyundai as rental car now on the hook after thieves try to steal it

Residents have already begun to sign up to receive these anti-theft devices.

“Public safety is the most important issue that a mayor has to address and we have chosen to provide this free service to our residents to help address a growing regional problem,” Jones said in a statement.

The locks are available for drivers of all cars, not just Hyundais or Kias, though we've seen an uptick in thefts of those models across the country and around the St. Louis area.

The 5 On Your Side I-Team has been keeping an eye on this trend In St. Louis city.

So far in 2022, St. Louis has had 4,296 total cars reported stolen and about half of the stolen cars are Hyundais or Kias.

According to our I-Team, though it's just September, St. Louis city has surpassed the number of car thefts for all of last year.

In 2021, only about 7% of stolen cars in St. Louis were documented as Hyundais or Kias, compared to the more than 50% of stolen cars being Hyundais or Kias in 2022.

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