Ohio Insurers Group: 11 Metro Areas in State See Decline in Auto Thefts

The Ohio Insurance Institute (OII) reported that 11 of the 15 Ohio metro areas (MSAs) in the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s (NICB) Hot Spots report show a decline in auto thefts between 2014 and 2015, based on auto theft rates.

Based on upticks in both theft rates and the number of auto thefts, four cities experienced increases in both: Dayton, Columbus, Parkersburg-Vienna and Akron.

Two other cities, Toledo and Cincinnati, saw increases in the number of actual thefts between 2014 and 2015.

Cleveland remains the top Ohio city based on its 2015 auto theft rate and number of thefts, but showed a decline from 2014. NICB reports that Cleveland’s theft rate for 2015 is 257 vehicles stolen per 100,000 in population. Its 2014 theft rate was 280 vehicles stolen per 100,000. Cleveland had 5,300 auto thefts in 2015, compared to 5,777 in 2014. The city ranks 86th in the U.S., according to the NICB’s national list, dropping from its 2014 ranking of 64th.

Dayton and Columbus are second and third highest in Ohio, based on US theft rankings of 110 and 121. Both cities had increases in terms of the number of auto thefts and their theft rates between 2014 and 2015.

2015 auto thefts for Dayton, according to the NICB report, stand at 1,748 compared to 1,614 in 2014.

The Hot Spots report showed Columbus thefts for 2015 at 4,230 versus 3,708 in 2014.

Rounding out Ohio’s top five cities are Toledo and Springfield.

Preliminary FBI Uniform Crime Report data for six major Ohio cities for the first six months of 2015 compared to 2014 finds Akron, Columbus and Dayton with increases in auto thefts and Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo with decreases.

Eight of the nation’s top 10 auto theft hot spots are located in California, according to the NICB report. The remaining two are in New Mexico and Colorado.

Source: OII

Topics Trends Carriers Auto Fraud Ohio