With Ford F-Series taillight thefts on the rise in Texas, police found an easy fix

With Ford F-Series taillight thefts on the rise, the cops in Texas have devised an easy fix.

Since September 2024, thieves have swiped over $92,000 worth of taillights from F-Series owners, with the F-150, F-250 and Raptor featuring prominently among affected vehicles.

In one week of January alone, a half-dozen sets of lights were stolen in the city of University Park.

So, the police in Dallas came up with a surprisingly simple solution.

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How police in Texas are curbing Ford F-Series taillight thefts

Taillight theft is no trivial matter – a replacement pair would set drivers back around $4,500.

And that’s not even taking into account the damage the theft would cause to the rest of the rear fender.

In 2024 alone, 15,852 Ford F-150s were stolen in the whole country, earning the truck a dishonorable spot in the top 10 most stolen vehicles list.

So, what have police in University Park done to try and deter taillight robbery?

You might expect a super sophisticated operation, like when Hyundai brought in a new software update that reduced theft by 64 percent.

Or like the Texas man who found his Lamborghini 150 miles away thanks to the car’s fob.

But no, in fact, it all came down to four screws.

That’s right – replace four screws on each taillight with a different kind, and it foils the thieves’ tools.

Fortunately for the residents of University Park, this switch is being offered up for free.

The police have replaced the taillight screws of more than 120 Ford trucks since 2021, none of which have been stolen in the years since.

Jase Schellinger is the detective on the force who came up with the idea.

“As rudimentary as it is, it works,” he told the People newspaper.

“When you’ve been doing police work for 26 years, it’s nice to find things that actually work.”

Why are the taillights being targeted?

Usually when we think of crime related to cars, we just think of straight up grand theft auto.

It’s a common crime and frequently fills up news pages.

Fortunately, many owners have happy reunions with their looted cars, like this man who had his 1967 Mustang taken from him two decades ago.

Some reunions even happen on the same day, as was the case with this Californian and his 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.

But with more than one million vehicles stolen in the US in 2023 alone, it’s a problem that seems to be on the rise.

As noted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car theft costs American drivers more than $8 billion each year.

But this means big money for criminals, and taillights are valuable pieces of hardware.

The taillights on the Ford F-Series are particularly profitable on sites like eBay or Facebook Marketplace.

Hopefully, more residents will take the police up on their offer for a screw switch and we’ll see a decrease in the figures related to taillight theft.