Stolen vehicle investigations explained by Shreveport police

SHREVEPORT, La. ( KTAL/KMSS ) — 22 vehicles were stolen from a local car dealership in the beginning of October, and Shreveport police explain what owners should know about the process of stolen vehicle investigations.

If your car is stolen, you call the police, but you must stay vigilant during the process, or it could cost you.

Shreveport police say you should call the police and then your insurance company, especially if you have full coverage.

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After the police take your report, there is a process for following up; SPD Public Information Officer Chris Borderlon told us, "When a person files a police report, they are given a report number. If they do not hear from a detective in a couple of days, we encourage them to reach out to the Shreveport Police Department Investigations office and give them the report number at that point in time they will be directed to what investigator has been assigned that report, and so they are able to keep tabs on what's going on with the case."

Stolen cars are taken to impound yards. The city has contracts with these facilities to store your vehicle. If you don't recover your property as soon as possible, you could incur storage fees.

Borderlon says police will make every effort to contact you, but ultimately, you are responsible for avoiding fees.

He said, "It is always a good idea to keep that report number and to periodically check with the agency which you filed that report just to ensure that maybe you didn't miss a phone call from an agency that recovered your vehicle."