In a time when crime rates are falling, it is important to consider why the criminal element may be turning to car theft as their “crime of choice.” The answer, according to solid police intelligence, is not what you might think. While professional, commercial car thieves may contribute to the rising trend in auto thefts, the vast majority of car thefts are committed by low level criminals who use the cars for quick transportation and as a means to commit additional crimes. These car thieves steal the cars, drive them around, and then take whatever personal property they can find, including car seats, CDs stereos, and cell phones. After the cars are dumped, it is up to the police to locate and recover the cars so that they can be returned to their owners.

The increase in car theft also can be attributed to the fairly low risk of being caught. Nationally, only about 13.1% of all car thefts are cleared by arrest, according to FBI statistics. In 2003, 461 juveniles and 2,027 adults were arrested for motor vehicle theft in Washington, amounting to a total of only 2,488 arrests. Given the number of cars reported stolen in 2003, a suspect had about a 1 in 16 chance of being arrested for motor vehicle theft in Washington that year.

The chance of being seriously punished is even slimmer. Under current sentencing laws in Washington, it takes five convictions before a juvenile car thief can receive more than 30 days detention. Upon the fifth conviction for auto theft, the juvenile offender receives a sentence of 15 to 36 weeks (3.75 to 9 months). The sentencing range for a first time adult charged with auto theft is 0 to 60 days in jail. It takes seven convictions before an adult auto thief faces a prison sentence. Even then, the 12-month sentence becomes an actual sentence of six months after good time reductions are factored in.

To fight the growing epidemic of auto theft in King County, it is time for the community and the criminal justice system to come together. Citizens and businesses in our community are worried about the severity of this problem and demand action. While legislative changes should be considered to ensure that auto theft laws provide a meaningful deterrent, this problem can not wait for, and will not be solved by, legislative action alone.

Tags: Auto Theft Prevention, Car Security System, Car Thefts, gps tracking devices, Stolen cars, theft devices, vehicle tracking device

This entry was posted on Friday, April 16th, 2010 at 6:04 am and is filed under Auto Thefts, Vehicle theft, antitheft, car alarm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.