Car Thefts Spike, How To Prevent Them

Aug. 12--Your car could be stolen within a matter of seconds.

Whether a thief has a ring of keys for your particular make and model, or the thief simply hops into a truck left running in front of a gas station, a vehicle can be gone in an instant.

And recovering that stolen vehicle takes a while. And the returned vehicle may not be in the same condition as before the theft.

More bad news: It has been happening more often. In 2013, Yuba-Sutter experienced a nearly 40 percent increase in car thefts from 2012, based on data collected from multiple law enforcement agencies.

That increase led to the Yuba City metro area being listed as one of the top 10 hot spots for vehicle theft in the country by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, based on 2013 data.

That same year, the California Highway Patrol, which handles a majority of car thefts in Yuba-Sutter, took reports of 421 vehicles stolen.

They recovered 365 stolen vehicles for a nearly 87 percent recovery rate.

"Some of these vehicles are found completely burned, some are partially stripped, and some are found just as they were stolen just in a different location," said CHP spokesperson Jodie Beck.

Marysville police Sgt. Chris Sachs said cars are most often stolen for parts, but sometimes for a joyride.

"We'll see vehicles stolen recovered in Sacramento, Citrus Heights or Lincoln," he said. "They use them to commit crimes and they get rid of them."

But, most frequently, they are found abandoned on the side of the road.

Honda Civics, Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys are the most common vehicles stolen -- often with shaved keys that work in multiple cars -- but officials said they're now seeing an increase of full-sized trucks being taken.

Simple precautionary measures can prevent theft. But owners can also take measures to increase the likelihood of recovering a vehicle.

"Often times, cars that have GPS tracking have a high rate of recovery, quickly," said Yuba City police spokeswoman Shawna Pavey.

She suggested vehicle owners invest in a tracking product, like OnStar or LoJack, which will activate a radio frequency transceiver, sending a signal that allows law enforcement agencies to track and discover a stolen vehicle's location.

___

(c)2014 the Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, Calif.)

Visit the Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, Calif.) at www.appeal-democrat.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services