Gov. Phil Murphy says he is backing legislation that increases penalties for car thieves following a rise in thefts around the state.

The proposed legislation includes additional punishments for repeat offenders and penalties for buying and selling stolen catalytic converters.

Murphy urged residents to lock their cars and take their key fobs with them.

“This may seem like basic common sense, but many car thefts are easier to pull off because their owners simply or have accidentally left their key fob in the car or inadvertently stored the fobs in their homes too close to the cars in their driveways or garages,” Murphy said.

But despite the publicity about the frequency of auto thefts, the governor says thefts are actually down 14% compared to last September.