Car Theft – Deterrent Measures Perhaps

Every year, there are more and more cars on American roads.

But the number of auto thefts has been declining in recent years due to increasingly sophisticated law enforcement and antitheft technology.

Indeed, some of the technology is so smart it can help catch the thief in addition to saving the vehicle.

General Motors’ Onstar program, for example, can disable a vehicle by the flick of a computer switch miles away. And the LoJack system incorporates a radio transceiver that sends an inaudible signal when remotely activated after a vehicle is stolen. The signal guides police officers to the car.

“Technology has made it much tougher to be a car thief,” said Frank Scafidi, director of public affairs at the National Insurance Crime Bureau. “Manufacturers and so many companies are making anti-theft devices.”

He cited Onstar, which disables a car’s accelerator; LoJack, which “can shut down cars anywhere on the planet;” and ignition immobilizers that prevent a vehicle from being started until it recognizes the owner’s key in the ignition.

In addition, he cited police departments educating drivers — “Don’t leave the keys in the car!” — and incorporating technology, such as the use of bait cars and license plate readers.

Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said the increasing sophistication of antitheft devices reflects the increased sophistication in cars in general — and their price.

“The days of hot wiring are over,” he said. “Casual thieves have been shut down.”

Scafidi agreed.

“It’s encouraging news (that) cars are harder to steal,” he said. “Less capable thieves have (fewer) targets of opportunity.”

And as older cars are scrapped, an ever increasing percentage of the nation’s fleet will include modern anti-theft technology.

“We are removing those older cars from the streets and manufacturers are increasing theft protection (on newer cars),” he said.

The Department of Transportation estimated the number of registered vehicles at around 230 million in 2006. In addition, there are millions of unregistered ones, many on the roads and many parked in barns and garages.

But one thing is certain: the number has been increasing over the years. Indeed, the Department of Transportation lists the number of registered passenger vehicles at 143 million in 1978.

And that makes the downturn in the number of auto thefts in recent years even more remarkable.

Last year, for example, 956,846 vehicles were stolen nationwide, according to the NICB. That was the first time national auto thefts were below one million since 1978, according to Scafidi.

“There are more cars to steal but fewer being stolen,” he said.

At the same time, claims are going up.

“The overall rate of insurance claims is trending down, but the cost of claims is trending up,” said Rader.

“Theft rates are down but the price of all these things is higher,” added, citing such equipment as headlights which are “more expensive that they used to be.”

IIHS figures show the average loss payment per stolen car claim increasing to $7,371 for a 2007 vehicle from $5,873 for a 1998 model year car.

In some cases the entire car is stolen to be resold in another part of the country or overseas. In others, cars are broken up for parts or the parts are simply stolen off the vehicle.

“A set of (custom) wheels from a (Cadillac) Escalade can go for thousands of dollars,” said Rader.

Indeed, while technology is driving the casual thief out of business, it is not going to catch the “gone in 60 seconds thief.”

He said such “high brow thieves who do not have to work every day,” would not be interested in a 1989 Toyota Camry.

“The accomplished car thief is not going to be lured by a set of dangling keys,” Scafidi said. “Auto theft is still for some a lucrative business.”

He cited the high demand overseas for such high value vehicles as Cadillac’s Escalade which has long led the list with the highest theft claims.

“The Cadillac Escalade has been the star of the show for years,” Rader said, adding that older model Asian imports lead the list in terms of sheer numbers of stolen cars.

The NICB lists the 1995 Honda Civic as the most stolen vehicle, followed by the 1991 Honda Accord and the 1989 Toyota Camry. But most of those thefts reflect the work of street thieves working on cars without modern anti-theft technology.

“There’s high demand for high value overseas,” Scafidi said, noting expensive cars one to three years old are “shipped right out of ports in containers to Europe, Africa, South America.

“You’ve got to have an organization behind you to make that work,” he said citing shipping costs and customs papers.

“Organized professional car theft rings flat bed the cars and take them away,” agreed Rader, adding that port cities and border areas were hot beds of theft.

“It’s a generational shift in behavior,” said Scafidi of the move away from low end auto theft prompted by better technology. “Miami used to be the center for drugs and cocaine trafficking; now it’s medical insurance fraud.”

http://www.projo.com/projocars/content/CA-CAR_THEFT_10-31-09_ALG894O_v12.285ae2a.html

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