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Statistics report that combined efforts by law enforcement agencies, insurance companies and consumers are putting a dent in auto theft. The number of stolen vehicles reported by insurance companies has decreased for the third consecutive year, according to a recent report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). In 1994, insurers reported 442,961 stolen vehicles to the NICB – a 1.2 percent decrease from 1993 and a 7.1 percent de-crease over a three-year period.
Released several months before the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Reports,the NICB’s yearly tally of vehicle theft statistics provides a sneak preview of national trends. “The total number of stolen vehicles reported to the NICB is approximately one-third of all stolen vehicles reported to the FBI,” said Jim Spiller, Associate Vice President of the NICB’s Operations Support Depart-ment. “The increase or decrease in vehicle theft calculated by the NICB usually varies by less than one percentage point from the figure eventually reported by the FBI.”
John Di Liberto, President and CEO of the NICB, points out that vehicle theft increased dramatically during the 1980s. “Law en-forcement agencies and insurance companies pooled their resources to tackle the problem. Auto-theft task forces have been success-ful in targeting organized theft rings, and consumer education programs have boosted vehicle theft prevention.” NICB resources include highly trained investigators and a 250 million-record database. Also included are education and legislative programs in conjunction with federal, state and local law enforcement to fight auto theft and insurance crimes. Di Liberto also believes that new penalties mandated in both the Federal Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992 and the 1994 Crime Bill should help support this downward trend.
Officials are careful to point out that the auto theft problem is not nearly over. “While decreasing,” Di Liberto continued, “vehicle theft remains the most costly property crime in the United States.” In fact, the FBI reported 1,561,047 stolen motor vehicles in 1993. At an average replacement cost of $4,408, the value of all stolen vehicles was nearly $7.5 billion in 1993.
“The good news is that of all stolen property, stolen vehicles are the most likely to be recovered,” added Di Liberto. He esti-mates that 62 percent of all stolen vehicles are recovered by law enforcement agencies, insurance companies and the NICB. Last year, the NICB assisted in the recovery of approximately $1.2 billion worth of stolen vehicles.
An auto theft occurs every 20 seconds. Approximately one out of every 126 registered vehicles was reported stolen in 1993.
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