Kansas City, Mo. ? Auto thefts in some areas around Kansas City have been on the rise despite a national trend downward in the first half of 2007.

Police attribute many of the thefts to organized groups, including a juvenile gang.

“When you have two or three (groups or individuals) that are extremely active, they can do a lot of damage,” said Police Detective Jamie Rader of Lenexa, Kan., where auto thefts surged 123 percent last year. “They don’t stop until they get caught.”

Lee’s Summit saw a 50 percent increase, The Kansas City Star reported Sunday.

Other area cities reporting increases in car thefts include Overland Park, Kan., Prairie Village, Kan., Shawnee, Kan., and Liberty, Mo.

Police said three groups have been at work in Lenexa. One is a juvenile gang that was caught stealing from apartment complexes. Others are an older group that targets large Ford trucks, and one man linked to a string of stolen Hondas. Police think the alleged Honda thief was renting the cars to criminals as getaway vehicles.

Federal authorities in Kansas City also indicted 10 area residents in December, alleging that their bistate ring stole 50 vehicles from car dealerships and an Olathe, Kan., police lot, and then dismantled them at chop shops in Blue Springs and Kansas City, Kan.

“It’s involved with the narcotics trade, and stolen cars often become involved in other crimes like robberies and burglaries,” said Kansas City Police Capt. Jeff Emery. “In the long run it affects everyone.”

Police say they don’t actively investigate most car thefts because there are too many thefts and too little evidence.

Mostly, authorities wait for the cars to turn up abandoned or at traffic stops.