The Las Vegas area has stolen the top spot on the list of auto thefts around the nation, followed by other areas in the West. After three consecutive years as the area with the worst per capita vehicle theft, Modesto, Calif., dropped to the No. 5 spot.
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, 22,441 vehicles were stolen in Clark County, Nev., in 2006, a rate of 1,311 stolen for every 100,000 residents that year. That rate was actually lower than 2005’s, when thieves took 22,465 vehicles — 1,360 vehicle thefts for every 100,000 Clark County residents.
Auto thefts were down across the nation by about 2.3 percent in 2006.
Officials say the Las Vegas Valley is good for car thieves because of the population growth and high number of parking garages and parking lots. About a quarter of the vehicles stolen in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County are taken by professional thieves who often run “chop shops” that take apart vehicles and sell the parts, police officials said. The remainder of the cases are “transportation thefts,” where vehicles are stolen to get from one place to another. Those cases include not just “joy rides” but also cars stolen for use in other crimes.
The 1996 Honda Accord was the car most frequently stolen in Nevada in 2005. The 1995 Honda Civic and 1990 Toyota Camry were second and third on that list. Those older vehicles were stolen most often because there are a lot of them on the road and their parts can be sold easily, authorities said.
Lt. Robert Duvall, who heads the Las Vegas police’s auto theft unit, said Las Vegas police stepped up several anti-car theft programs in 2006, including ramping up the multi-agency Viper unit to crack down on professional auto thieves, launching multiple public awareness campaigns and using “bait cars” to catch suspects.
Modesto, Calif., implemented enforcement tools such as bait vehicles and license plate reader programs to help combat theft, the National Insurance Crime Bureau indicated.
Other precautions vehicle owners can take include not leaving a key in an unlocked vehicle; parking in well-lit areas; and installing devices such as alarms, and brake or wheel locks.
Despite the good news in Modesto, five of the top 10 areas for auto theft were in California, according to the NICB (See ranking on right).
For its rankings, NICB reviewed data supplied by the National Crime Information Center for each of the nation’s 361 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, designated by the Office of Management and Budget. The rate was determined by the number of vehicle theft offenses per 100,000 inhabitants using 2005 U.S. Census Population Estimates.
View the “Number One Hot Spot” report at www.nicb.org.
Top 10 metro areas with highest vehicle theft rates (2006 figures)
1. Las Vegas/Paradise, Nev.
2. Stockton, Calif.
3. Visalia/Porterville, Calif.
4. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, Ariz.
5. Modesto, Calif.
6.Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue, Wash.
7. Sacramento/Arden-Arcade/Roseville, Calif.
8. Fresno, Calif.
9. Yakima, Wash.
10. Tucson, Ariz.
Source: NICB/AP
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