Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer has announced that he is pushing for more action to combat a spike in car thefts across New Jersey and the nation.

New Jersey law enforcement officials say that more than 14,000 vehicles were reported stolen in New Jersey in 2021.

One car theft victim is Matthew Mazon, of Franklin Lakes. He says he was taking his garbage out one morning, left the key fob in his BMW and went back into his house. He says when he came back outside, his car was gone.

“To all my fellow residents out there, just lock your car. Hopefully this doesn’t happen to a lot of you. If I can stop maybe one fellow resident from getting their car taken, that would be a good thing,” Mazon says.

Gottheimer is pushing for a National Auto Theft Task Force, increasing Department of Homeland Security personnel at ports and increased prosecution by the United States Attorney’s Office on car thefts and carjacking crimes, among other actions.