"Hot Car," a 1958 Training Film for Police on Automobile Theft

 I just caught wind of this film last night. It is short film teaching police about auto theft, a huge problem in the 1950s, mostly because of joy riding.  but there is also a message about organized crime and chop shops. The recovery rate in any area is key to understanding what the source of the auto thefts are, whether joy-riders or organized crime where the car disappears forever.

I was struck by police use of the hot sheet in their cars, and how it was counted on a drum-like apparatus.  I had little to say about this important tool in my Stealing Cars: Technology and Society from the Model T to Gran Torino (2018). I also noted the fabricated tools to enter a car of the 1950s. A clear weakness that opened the door for thieves was the vent window.  But oh how great it was to use and play with if you were a kid driving along on a hot day.

Note also the under-the-hood hot wire technique -- jumper from battery to coil and then using pliars to bridge the gap between solenoid and battery connection.