Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — There’s a new push to crack down on the staggering rise of car thefts in Monroe County and across NYS.

In Monroe County, there’s been a 345 percent jump in stolen cars in just the first seven months of 2023, according to New York State Senator Jeremy Cooney. In Rochester, there was a whopping 829 percent spike in that same time frame.

MORE: Monroe County’s stolen vehicle task force battles soaring car thefts in the area | Steering towards safety: The fight against skyrocketing car theft rates continues in New York

“It’s no secret that NYS has seen a drastic increase in stolen vehicles,” Cooney said. “Western New York specifically has seen a disproportionate amount compared to the rest of the state.”

Cooney is pushing the Car Theft Prevention Act to address the issue. It would allow judges to consider bail for those charged with felony criminal possession of stolen property. Right now, that charge would only result in an appearance ticket.

“This change in non way requires the assignment of bail,” Cooney explained. “It simply provides local judges with the option to set that at their discretion, based on circumstances of the accused.”

For neighbors, the issue isn’t simply stolen property.

“On my street in the Maplewood neighborhood, we’ve had cars taken, and it always happens to be a single mother working to provide all of the income for her household,” said Pastor Rickey Harvey with Mt. Olivet Baptist Church. “The second one was a college student, doing his best to get to school. It changes their lives.”

“There were several months were we had 16 or 17 cars stolen just in our little neighborhood,” said Jeff Holdsworth, president of the Corn Hill Neighborhood Association. “Kias rolling over in the street, as kids were trying to play bumper cars in the street, and those things have impacted our neighbors.”

The legislations has been submitted, but won’t be considered until 2024.

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