As of June 5, the city had 880 reports of thefts from motor vehicles. In Henrico County, 631 reports were made in the same period, accounting for less than 5 percent of all crime. In Chesterfield County, 538 thefts made up 7.5 percent of the county’s serious incidents between Jan. 1 and June 5. Hanover County reported 36 larcenies from cars, which is about 2.2 percent of its crime.

Part of why this particular crime causes such headaches for police is because the cases are hard to solve, O’Kleasky said. Most reports can only estimate when the crime may have occurred because the victim often parks their car once home or at work and leaves it for hours on end. Most often, crimes are reported to have occurred on Sundays between 1 and 3 a.m., according to the Richmond police data.

In five years, the city has made fewer than 200 arrests for these thefts.

The victims are often young: More than 61 percent of those reporting items stolen from a car were between the ages of 21 and 39, the department’s data show.

This, at least in part, explains why areas like the Fan and Museum districts are so hard-hit. They are densely populated with young renters, as well as by bars, restaurants and shops, with mostly street parking available.