The Sheriff’s crime map shows vehicle thefts in unincorporated Hillsborough County down from 1,497 in 2022 to 679 in 2025, and 2026 is running lower still. The numbers by year and ZIP code, what they leave out, how cars get taken now, and how to keep a push-to-start fob from being the way in.
Vehicle thefts in the parts of Hillsborough County the Sheriff’s Office patrols have fallen by more than half since 2022. The Sheriff’s public crime map shows 679 in 2025, down from 1,497 in 2022, and 387 from January 1 through October 20, 2026. Here’s what the map shows year by year and ZIP code by ZIP code, what it leaves out, how cars are being taken now, and how to keep a push-to-start fob from becoming the way in.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) puts its reports on a public Crime Search Map, linked from teamhcso.com. The data behind the map can be counted, so we counted it: every report filed under the map’s vehicle-theft label (“theft of a vehicle & other mob”), by the date the theft happened, from 2020 through October 20, 2026. We ran the counts on October 21, 2026.
After two years near 1,500, the count fell by about a third in 2024 and by about a third again in 2025. Last year’s 679 is less than half the 2022 peak.
From January 1 through October 20, 2026, the map shows 387 vehicle thefts. Over the same dates in 2025 it showed 566, so this year is running almost a third lower. The statewide picture points the same way: the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) counted 10,211 vehicle thefts in Florida in the first half of 2026, down from 14,873 in the first half of 2025.
Break-ins to take things out of a car are filed separately, as burglaries under “theft from a vehicle.” There have been more of those than thefts of whole vehicles every year since 2020, and they’ve fallen too:
So far in 2026 there have been 654, through October 20, against 847 by that date in 2025.
These 12 ZIP codes were in the top ten for vehicle thefts in 2025, in 2026 so far, or both. The first number is 2025; the second runs from January 1 through October 20, 2026. A ZIP code rarely matches a neighborhood, so we’ve named only three, each linked to an area page on this site.
Two of them run against the countywide trend: 33598 has already passed its 2025 total, and 33573 is two short of its own.
The map counts thefts; it doesn’t say how they happened. National sources describe a few patterns, from simple to technical:
That last one is the reason we match a photo ID to the name on the car’s registration or title before programming any key.
A relay attack needs the fob’s signal, and plug-in programming needs a way into the car. So the defenses come down to the fob and the doors:
If your car or your keys are stolen, our stolen car keys checklist covers who takes the report, how to stop a missing key from starting the car again on models that allow it, and what NICB reports about Hyundai and Kia thefts. To replace what’s gone, see key fob replacement, Hyundai and Kia keys and ignitions, ignition repair or spare car keys.
In the parts of the county the Sheriff’s Office polices, its crime map shows 679 vehicle thefts in 2025, counted on October 21, 2026. That figure leaves out Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City, which have their own police departments.
Yes, on the Sheriff’s map. Vehicle thefts peaked at 1,497 in 2022 and fell to 679 in 2025. Through October 20, 2026, the count was 387, against 566 by the same date in 2025.
33619, with 69, followed by 33511 with 47 and 33578 with 44, on the Sheriff’s crime map. Those counts cover only the reports the Sheriff’s Office took.
Investigators recommend them, along with keeping fobs away from exterior doors and windows. Test yours: seal the fob inside, then try the car’s door handle. If the car unlocks, the pouch isn’t blocking the signal.
Police in Austin, Texas, have described thieves who get inside a car and plug a programming device into its diagnostic (OBD) port to write a new key. Keeping the car locked is the first defense, and a lock on the port is another. A locksmith should confirm ownership before programming any key; we match a photo ID to the name on the registration or title.
On the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office website, teamhcso.com, under Crime Search Map. It maps the reports the Sheriff’s Office takes.
Lost a fob, or want a spare made before you need one? Call Zoom Locksmith at (305) 528-1358 between 8am and 8pm, Monday through Saturday. Zoom is a family-owned mobile locksmith, insured and background-checked, and since 2018 we’ve made keys at the car across Hillsborough County, in English and Spanish, from Brandon and Riverview to Sun City Center.
Car keys and fobs in Hillsborough
The line is answered Monday through Saturday, 8am to 8pm, in English or Spanish. Have the VIN handy, or the year, make and model.
