Park and Risk: Top 10 Hot Spots for Auto Thefts
Find out if your neighborhood is a hot spot for car thieves.
June 21, 2012— -- intro: Is your town a hot spot for car thieves looking for prey?
The National Insurance Crime Bureau released its annual Hot Spots for Vehicle Thefts, and once again Fresno, California takes the lead for stolen automobiles.
Not surprisingly, car owners looking to hang on to their vehicles might want to pay close attention to security details if they live in some metro areas in California where 7 of the 10 hot spots for auto thefts are located.
"California has been dominating the list for years," Frank Scafidi, a spokesperson for NICB told ABC News. "There are several reasons for this, not least of which is that there are just many more vehicles in CA than any other state and there are more people here than any other state, including auto thieves, so with that combination you get more vehicle theft activity."
"Also, CA's proximity to the Mexican border is a factor," he continued. "There are a lot of vehicles stolen from CA that are found within 100 miles of the border."
As for the type of vehicle criminals are looking for, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are the two most common cars stolen, according to CCC Information Services, which tracks trends in auto theft.
While the New York City metro area failed to crack the top ten, it should be noted that more than 29,000 cars were stolen from the area in 2011. That's more cars than the top five cities combined. But, the auto theft rate is based on data compiled by NICB that looks at how many cars are stolen per 100,000 people.
Take a look at the top cities -based on theft rate- where you're most likely to park and never see your car again.
The National Crime Information Center discourages comparisons of cities using Uniform Crime Reporting statistics.
quicklist: 1category: title: Fresno, Californiatext: Fresno continues to hold the top spot for auto thefts. The car owners in the city, which has a population of a little around 500,000, have lost 7,621 vehicles to car thieves in 2011. The number is a slight decrease from the 7,559 cars stolen last year.
Theft Rate in 2011: 808.25
Total Cars Stolen: 7,621
Theft Rate in 2010: 812.4
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quicklist: 2category: title: Modesto, Californiatext: Despite its number 2 ranking for the second consecutive year, the number of automobiles that were stolen in 2011 is on a decline. In 2011, 3,315 cars were stolen from the city about 90 miles away from San Francisco, which is a decrease from 3,878 auto thefts in 2010.
Theft Rate in 2011: 639.32
Total Cars Stolen in 2011: 3,315
Theft Rate in 2010: 753.81
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quicklist: 3category: title: Bakersfield-Delano, Cailiforniatext: In addition to auto woes, residents of this City experienced real estate woes as home values in the area plunged in 2011. But, there's some good news for car owners. The total cars stolen in 2011 shrunk to 5,240 from 5,623 in 2010.
Theft Rate in 2011: 615.23
Total Cars Stolen in 2011:5,240
Theft Rate in 2010: 669.7
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quicklist: 4category: title: Spokane, Washingtontext: Auto owners in Spokane, Washington should be excited to know there were less vehicles stolen in 2011. The number of cars stolen in 2011 was 2,614, a decline from 2,763 in 2010.Theft Rate in 2011: 551.75
Total Cars Stolen in 2011:2,614
Theft Rate in 2010: 586.35
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quicklist: 5category: title: Yakima, Washingtontext: This suburb in Washington State landed on the list after car thieves made off with 1,308 automobiles. The figure is impressive for a state with a population of less than 100,000. The number of auto thefts was enough to increase the city's ranking from number 10 last year to number five.
Theft Rate in 2011: 529.25
Total Cars Stolen in 2011:1,308
Theft Rate in 2010: 520.49
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quicklist: 6category: title: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Californiatext: The area with a booming tech industry is also experiencing an increase in sticky fingers. The areas car theft rate in 2011 climbed up to three spots from its home at number 9 last year. The Good News: The total number of car thefts has decreased by about 600 since last year.
Theft Rate in 2011: 528.87
Total Cars Stolen in 2011:23,223
Theft Rate in 2010: 521.68
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quicklist: 7category: title: Stockton, Californiaurl: Theft Rate in 2011: 507.32
Total Cars Stolen in 2011:3,532
Theft Rate in 2010: 551.43
text: Stockton, California once again claimed the number 7 spot on the Hot Spot for Stolen Vehicles. Stockton, which was on the list of Top Ten Areas Hit Hardest by Tanking Home Values,saw auto thefts decline be around 200 in 2011.
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quicklist: 8category: title: Anderson, South Carolinatext: Last year, at least 911 car owners had good reason to call 9-1-1. The manufacturing area made its way to the top ten cities for auto thefts after failing to crack the top 30 in 2010 and 2009.
Theft Rate in 2011: 483.32
Total Cars Stolen in 2011:911
Theft Rate in 2010: 371.94
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quicklist: 9category: title: Vallejo-Fairfield, Californiatext: Good news: this suburban area fell from its position of number 5 in 2010 to the position of number 9 for auto thefts. The area's car owners saw 390 less vehicles stolen in 2011, which was a hard year for real estate in the area.
Theft Rate in 2011: 480.71
Total Cars Stolen in 2011:2,002
Theft Rate in 2010: 578.69
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quicklist: 10category: title: Visalia-Porterville, Californiatext: As car thefts in the area continue to shrink, this metropolitan area has managed to shed its ranking of number 8 for auto thefts. At its new ranking of number 10, the Visalia-Porterville area saw auto thefts decrease by nearly 300 in 2011.
Theft Rate in 2011: 472.78
Total Cars Stolen in 2011:2,124
Theft Rate in 2010: 544.8
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