Vehicle theft booming in U.S. port and border communities

PALOS HILLS, Ill. (April 30, 2002) — With vehicle theft on the rise, people need to pay more attention to protecting their cars and trucks from thieves — particularly if they live in communities near ports and international borders.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), an insurance fraud watchdog organization, reported today that of the top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas for vehicle theft, all are in or near ports and Canadian and Mexican borders or within easy reach of them.

The NICB’s study analyzed 2001 vehicle theft rates of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and vehicle theft data collected from the FBI. MSAs, designated by the U.S. Census Bureau, include cities as well as communities in the surrounding area.

The ten-cities/metropolitan areas (MSAs) with the highest vehicle theft rates in 2001 were: Phoenix; Miami; Fresno, Calif.; Detroit; Sacramento; Tuscon, Ariz.; Tacoma, Wash.; Stockton, Calif.; Seattle; and Jersey City, N.J.

FBI statistics show that a 10-year decline in auto theft rates has stopped, with an increase of 1.2% from 1999 to 2000. Nearly 1.2 million vehicles, costing more than $7.5 billion US, are stolen nationwide each year. More than 30% are never recovered.

Many of the un-recovered vehicles are shipped overseas or driven across international borders. Some 200,000 vehicles are illegally exported each year, says the NICB.

“The post-September 11 redeployment of law enforcement from auto theft task forces has increased the need for consumers to take as many steps as possible to prevent their vehicles from being stolen,” said Robert M. Bryant, NICB president and chief executive officer.

The NICB recommends a layered approach to preventing car theft, with the number of layers depending on the vehicle and geographic location, budget and personal preference.

There are four layers of protection to consider: common sense — removing keys and locking doors; visible and audible devices — steering wheel locks or alarms; immobilizing devises — cut-off switches and fuel disablers; and tracking devices that give police the location of a stolen vehicle.

The NICB vehicle theft rate is the number of vehicle thefts reported per 100,000 in population. MSAs represent not only cities and adjacent metropolitan regions, but also broader areas. For example, the Chicago MSA includes not only the city of Chicago and Cook County, but eight surrounding counties as well.

A listing of all 330 MSAs is posted at the NICB Web site, www.nicb.org.