'Find that car as soon as possible': Inside Fairfax County's auto crimes enforcement team

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — As 7News continues to track an increase in carjackings and car thefts throughout the DMV, we're talking to the 'Auto Crimes Enforcement' team, also known as ACE, within the Fairfax County Police Department.

"Often times in violent crimes, often times through the investigation it's learned people are using stolen vehicles to commit those crimes. So just under a year ago, the chief created a new auto crimes enforcement unit," said Detective Lindsey Memenza, a member of the ACE team. "We're out in the streets, we're visible, taking a proactive approach to apprehend offenders and recover stolen vehicles."

The team is out on the road day and night, and Memenza says part of their approach is knowing what to look for when it comes to stolen cars.

"I'm sure you're aware of the rise in stolen Kia's and Hyundai's. So an indicator for us right off the bat would be seeing a Kia or a Hyundai and seeing there's a broken window," she said. "A broken window is an immediate indicator for us, and then we'll run the tag and oftentimes before you know it, we're getting a stolen return off of it."

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At that point, she said the ACE team will work together to determine what tactic they'll use to try to stop that car.

FCPD shared dashcam video with 7News that shows Memenza and other auto crimes enforcement officers in action, driving in unmarked cars on the busy highway as they surround an SUV that's suspected to be stolen. The video shows officers then "box in" the SUV, forcing the driver to a stop.

Moments later, police said they took that suspected car thief into custody.

"The box-ins are probably our most utilized tactic, where we can surround a target vehicle and then slow them to a stop while still maintaining our safety and trying to keep the other motorists on the roadway safe," Memenza said.

There's also a big focus on responding rapidly after a theft is reported.

"As these reports are coming out, our team is able to get a jump on it. So if a victim is reporting their car just got stolen and it does have tracking ability, we're doing a bunch of proactive steps. Whether that's entering that vehicle into a database or going directly to the victim and the manufacturer to try to facilitate an apprehension or a recovery for the victim."

In those cases where cars are equipped with GPS tracking devices, Memenza said every second counts.

"The sooner we can get on the tracking, oftentimes the better results we get in recovering the vehicle," she said.

For instance in January, FCPD and the ACE team were able to use a stolen car's GPS system to get real-time updates on the vehicle's location after an alleged carjacking occurred on South Kings Highway. Police say that allowed them to quickly track down the car, and officers then used a precision immobilization technique or "pit" maneuver to stop it.

SEE ALSO: Fairfax police used pit maneuver in pursuit to capture armed carjacking suspect

FCPD released helicopter video that showed that pit maneuver, and say the 28-year-old suspect in that cases now faces charges that include carjacking, possession of a firearm by a felon, use of a firearm in a felony, and disregarding police command to stop, and two counts of hit and run.

The ACE team also responded quickly for a January 15 case, in which police say someone stole a car while a five-year-old child was inside the vehicle.

RELATED: Alexandria woman arrested after stealing car with child inside, Fairfax Co. police say

"Find that car as soon as possible," Memenza said of her immediate reaction to that case. "We knew there was a child in the car and that was the first and only mission, how can we locate that car by any means necessary, because we knew there was a child inside."

FCPD said the child was quickly located with the help of officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in the District. The car was later recovered and a 40-year-old Alexandria woman was arrested in the case, charged with abduction, two counts of grand larceny, credit card theft, false identification to law enforcement, and obstruction of justice

"I think the sooner we can intercept some of these cars and identify the offenders, the hope is to try to minimize or mitigate that car being used for something else, whether it's in another county, another state... it mitigates the chance of that car then being used for a robbery or another carjacking or a murder, or even something like a hit and run."

Overall, FCPD says the department has recovered 403 stolen vehicles and made 99 grand larceny auto arrests since June of 2022, which is about when the new auto crimes enforcement team officially hit the roads in Fairfax County.

FCPD said many, but not all, of those arrests were made by the ACE team.

7News asked Detective Memenza what advice she would give to drivers and car owners.

"First and foremost, lock your cars. Double check them," she said. "And for vehicles that require remote start or have key fobs, or the push start, take all keys with out inside your home."

It sounds simple, but she can't say it enough.

"It doesn't matter if you're out of your car for five seconds, two minutes, or if you can see your car," she said. "Lock your doors. Take your keys."