have a preference for stealing cars that they already know how to steal, and are easily stolen: Chevy /Olds /Pontiac /Buick /Dodge /Plymouth /and Chrysler products are most popular in Pittsburgh and account for 8 of the top 10 models stolen. Honda, and Toyota products are popular throughout the Nation due to popularity and ability to resale Parts.
Juveniles steal in-groups, professionals steal cars alone, as a general rule.
Typical tools used are slide hammers (dent-puller), screwdriver (universal tool), slip tools such as a
common butter knife.
The state of auto theft in 2000
By Joe Frey insure.com
Auto theft is an estimated $7.5 billion business and continues to grow despite the declining theft rate across the
country, according to the FBI.
According to recently released numbers, the FBI says that in 1998, auto thieves grabbed 8.4 percent fewer cars than in 1997, but the average value of the cars stolen was 11 percent
higher. That means the auto theft industry's cost to consumers and insurers rose $200 million in 1998.
A car is stolen every 23 seconds, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), a trade organization.
The odds of your car being taken were 1 in 171 in 1998, says the III.
Police apprehend 14 percent of all auto thieves — a percentage that has remained constant for the past decade. Thefts were most prevalent in the
South, where 36 percent of all vehicle thefts occurred in 1998. Western states accounted for 28 percent of all reported thefts, while the Midwest and Northeast reported 20 percent and 16 percent of all thefts,
respectively.
What the thieves are after
"Thieves will steal anything that's free," according to the III (Insurance Information Institute), radios, air bags, electronic control modules
(ECMs), and laptop computers are high on thieves' lists. The latest statistics from the National Insurance Crime Bureau show that 60,000 air bags are ripped out of cars annually, which costs insurance companies an
estimated $50 million per year. Anti-theft-device manufacturers have made improvements on their product designs and functions, which make your car harder to steal.
