Monday October 8, 2001

UAPD officials believe most stolen vehicles end up in Mexico

Arizona ranks first in the nation in the number of vehicles stolen per capita, FBI reports state.

Thieves stole 1.5 million motor vehicles in the United States last year - an average of one vehicle every 25 seconds. According to the FBI's annual statistical report, more than 37,000 vehicles were stolen in Arizona last year.

Students should be aware that this crime is prevalent in the University of Arizona community, University of Arizona Police Department officials warn.

UAPD Cmdr. Brian Seastone said students could help prevent this crime by always looking out for suspicious activity.

"We need people to be our additional eyes and ears," Seastone said.

Seastone also said most students do not take the necessary precautions by using a form of protection. He said that while a car alarm is better than nothing, the best preventive device for the money is "The Club" - a $30 cylindrical lock that braces the steering wheel so it cannot be turned.

Despite the efficiency of this and other devices, Seastone warns, "Any device can be defeated."

The National Crime Prevention Council advocates devices that transmit signals from the car to police authorities as a more effective alternative to "The Club."

These devices - such as the brands Car*Com II and Lo Jack - permit police to locate the exact whereabouts of the vehicle.

If a car theft is noticed quickly, these trackers are almost foolproof, the council said.

Tracking devices could be especially advantageous in Tucson, not only because of the large amount of vehicles stolen, but because the chance of having a stolen vehicle recovered is much lower in Tucson than nationwide.

Vanessa Cartwright, UAPD crime statistician, said that last year, 45 auto thefts were reported on campus. Of these, three arrests were made.

Also, of the 14,082 vehicles reported stolen to TPD in 2000, 769 were recovered by TPD - a number which represents 5.4 percent of the total stolen. During 1999, 32 percent of vehicles were recovered nationwide.

Seastone said that because of UA's proximity to the Mexican border, recoveries and arrests are more difficult. Cars coming into the United States are screened much more than those going out.

"Just about everything is going over the border in some way," Seastone said.

According to TPD's Web site, 19,346 vehicles were stolen within city limits in 1998, and 2,248 (11.6 percent) were recovered. Seastone said the thefts could be part of a professional operation ring.

These organizations often research an area before committing the crimes, in order to perform them smoothly and efficiently. Seastone said these criminals are harder to catch because they tend to be more logical in their approach to car theft.

UAPD attributes a string of car garage thefts last year to a criminal organization that "probably came from out of state and specifically targeted U of A," Seastone said.

Former acting director of the FBI Thomas J. Pickard notes on the FBI Web site a trend that gathered momentum during the middle and late 1990s, that "vehicle theft has become a crime of choice for organized crime groups."

"Only 14 percent of cases are cleared by arrest," Pickard said.

According to FBI statistics, this arrest rate is by far the lowest for all felonies. In 1999, motor vehicle theft accounted for 9.9 percent of all felony crime nationwide. The net worth of the 1.5 million vehicles were stolen came to more than $8 billion.

These national statistics and more can be found at the FBI's Web site, www.fbi.gov.