NEW ORLEANS - Police in New Orleans are handing out hundreds of anti-theft devices in hopes of stemming a rash of thefts targeting certain vehicles. 

WWL-TV reported Monday that the New Orleans Police Department is currently handing out about 300 steering wheel locks to the owners of Kia vehicles. The department has also been handing out devices for Hyundai owners in recent weeks.  

Certain models from those manufacturers have been targeted by thieves at about double the rate of other vehicles after a hole in their security systems was noticed by criminals. In late 2022, it was widely circulated on social media that lower-priced vehicles from those companies lacked "immobilizer" systems in their keys, and cities have steadily seen an influx of thefts targeting those cars. 

Last week, State Farm declared several models ineligible for coverage in Louisiana and several other states because of the security flaw. 

The list of impacted models shared by State Farm included...

- 2015-2021 Hyundai Accent

- 2015-2021 Hyundai Elantra

- 2015-2021 Hyundai Kona

- 2015-2021 Hyundai Santa Fe

- 2015-2021 Hyundai Tuscon

- 2015-2021 Hyundai Veloster

- 2015-2021 Kia Forte

- 2015-2021 Kia Optima (4-door and hybrid models)

- 2015-2021 Kia Rio

- 2015-2021 Kia Sedona

- 2015-2021  Kia Sorento

- 2015-2021  Kia Soul

- 2015-2021 Kia Sportage