The Kern County Auto Theft Taskforce, or KernCATT, focuses on locating stolen vehicles and returning them to their owners.
Kern County has ranked in the top three for highest number of auto thefts in the country every year since 2010.
KernCATT is made up of ten officers from the Bakersfield Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. They patrol in unmarked cars and try to remain undercover to avoid alerting criminals they are authorities.
Head of KernCATT, John Staricka, says some tricks to keep your car safe are parking in well lit areas, always lock your car and be aware that storing keys in gym lockers can give thieves easy access.
"Crooks will know that you're going to put your stuff, including your wallet and you keys into the locker, lock it and go work out for an hour and a half. In the meantime they go in there, cut your lock, take your keys, take your purse and they got an hour head start on you," said Staricka.
