Report: Vehicle Theft Falls, California Still Dominates Top 10 List

The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported 2011 is on track for another consecutive year of declining vehicle thefts, but California still dominates the top 10 list for areas highest auto theft rates.

Seven of the top 10 areas were in California, mostly in the central and northern portion of the state.

The report is a reflection of vehicle thefts on a per capita basis, and the authors of the report note that an area with a much smaller population and a moderate number of thefts can, and often does, have a higher theft rate than an area with a much more significant vehicle theft problem and a larger population to absorb it.

For 2011, the 10 areas with the highest vehicle theft rates were:

2011 Ranking		2010 Ranking
1.	Fresno, Calif.	1
2.	Modesto, Calif.	2
3.	Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.	3
4.	Spokane, Wash.	4
5.	Yakima, Wash.	10
6.	San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont, Calif.	9
7.	Stockton, Calif.	7
8.	Anderson, S.C.	33
9.	Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.	5
10.	Visalia-Porterville, Calif.	8

The report uses vehicle theft data obtained from the National Crime Information.

The FBI’s preliminary 2011 crime statistics released last week indicate a 3.3 percent drop in vehicle thefts from the 2010 number of 737,142.

Des Plaines, Ill.-based NICB is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness. The NICB is supported by more than 1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations.

Topics California Auto Fraud

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