New York City is planning to give out free Apple AirTag to residents in an effort to put the brakes on rampant car thefts, New York Post reported.

Mayor Eric Adams on Saturday called on residents to help fight vehicle theft in the city by placing Apple AirTag in their cars. AirTags are small, circular tracking devices that allow users to monitor the location of their belongings through the "Find My" app on their Apple phones. If a car is stolen with an Apple AirTag inside, the vehicle can be tracked through the device.

"It's a really amazing piece of ingenuity," Adams said at a press conference Sunday.

Mr Adams said that a non-profit organisation has donated 500 of the gadgets to distribute to residents for free, New York Post reported. "The aggravated number of grand larceny autos continues to drive up crime in our city," the mayor said.

"This simple device, this simple AirTag, hidden in a car location that a person is not aware, of is an excellent tracking device," Mr Adams said. "It's easy to monitor. You can see in real-time where the vehicle is located."

On Sunday, the New York City Police Department also shared a video on Twitter demonstrating how using an Apple AirTag can protect their vehicles. The caption of the video reads, "The 21st century calls for 21st-century policing. AirTags in your car will help us recover your vehicle if it's stolen. We'll use our drones, our StarChase technology & good old fashion police work to safely recover your stolen car. Help us help you, get an AirTag."

Watch the video here:

"We're going to be handing them out in this precinct, which is really spiking in grand larceny autos," Mr Adams said from the Castle Hill Library.

According to reports, car thefts in the Big Apple has been on the rise, with the number spiking to 4,492 through April 23 this year compared to 3,966 over the same period last year - a more than 13% increase.