Phoenix & Miami Top Vehicle Theft Cities

Port and Border Communities Targeted By Thieves

Arlington, VA. April 10 The Phoenix metropolitan area has the highest vehicle theft rate in the country, followed by the Miami and Detroit metropolitan areas according to a study by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).

The NICB’s study analyzed vehicle theft rates of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in 2000 using vehicle theft data collected from the FBI. The vehicle theft rate is the number of stolen vehicles divided by the population, then divided again by 100,000.

Of the top ten metro areas in the nation for vehicle theft, the NICB found that seven are ports or communities with easy access to the Mexican or Canadian borders.

The MSAs with the ten highest vehicle theft rates are: Phoenix; Miami; Detroit; Jersey City, NJ; Tacoma; Las Vegas; Fresno; Seattle; Jackson, MS; Flint, MI.

“Even though overall vehicle theft rates have declined in recent years, thanks to the effective efforts of law enforcement and the increasing use of deterrent devices, vehicle theft remains the number one property crime in the country, costing more than $7 billion dollars each year,” said Robert M. Bryant, NICB president and CEO. Approximately 1.1 million vehicles are stolen nationwide each year, and more than 30 percent are never recovered.

Bryant said port and border communities, more than two-thirds of the top 25 vehicle theft areas, continue to be boom areas for the vehicle theft business.

According to the NICB, many of the unrecovered vehicles are often shipped overseas or driven across state and international borders. The NICB said approximately 200,000 vehicles are illegally exported each year.

All vehicles are at risk for theft. “Newer models are more likely to be illegally shipped abroad, while older vehicles are mainly stolen for their parts,” said Bryant. “If your city appears toward the top of our list, you need to be extra careful and take steps to protect your vehicle from theft.”

To help combat vehicle theft, NICB recommends using a layered approach to protect your vehicle. The number of layers a vehicle needs varies depending on the vehicle and geographic location. Budget and personal preferences should also determine which anti-theft device is best.

There are four layers of protection to consider: common sense removing the keys and locking the doors; visible and audible devices steering wheel locks or alarms; immobilizing devices smart keys or kill switches; and tracking devices.

The vehicle theft study was undertaken by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a non-profit organization supported by approximately 1,000 insurance and self-insured companies solely dedicated to fighting insurance fraud and vehicle theft.