States in the western part of the U.S. seem to have been hit the hardest by auto thefts last year, according to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). Of the top ten cities in the country for auto theft, nine are located in the West. On top of that, seven out of ten cities are in Central and Northern California.
Fresno, Calif. tops the list as the city with the most auto thefts in the nation, followed by its fellow Golden State cities of Modesto and Bakersfield. Number four and five are Spokane, Wash. and Yakima, Wash. San Francisco/Oakland and Stockton, Calif. are next followed by the only East Coast state on the list: Anderson, S.C. Vallejo-Fairfield and Visalia-Porterville, Calif. round out the top ten cities on the list.
Around the nation, auto thefts dropped in 2011. According to preliminary data from the FBI, last year saw a 3.3 percent drop in auto thefts from the 737,142 thefts in 2010. Various reports show that the final FBI figures may show that nationwide auto thefts have fallen to their lowest levels since the mid-1960s.
To combat auto theft, many areas around the country have been stepping up law enforcement efforts. In Dallas, police have been conducting “stings” and leaving “bait” cars to catch perpetrators in the act of stealing. Automakers are also making a significant contribution of their own in fighting theft. Advanced telematics systems such as General Motor’s OnStar are capable of shutting down the engines of stolen vehicles, leaving thieves stranded and allowing time for the police to catch up with the car.
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