Auto Theft Up 10.6% on the West Coast
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the national rate of car theft rose 1.3 percent in 2012 after declining for eight consecutive years.
The news gets worse for those living in the state of California, where eight of the top 10 auto theft cities are. Washington state is responsible for the remaining two, which makes the West coast a hot bed for car thieves. According to NICB, California’s proximity to ports in addition to the Mexican border makes it easier to get rid of stolen cars while the good weather also helps keep older models in good shape.
Year-over-year, the West coast saw an overall increase of 10.6 percent in car thefts while the rest of the country saw reductions: Midwest, Northeast, and Southern regions saw 3.1 percent, 7.9 percent, and 2.9 percent respectively.
The top city for car thefts in 2012 was Modesto, California while Fresno followed in second. Bakersfield-Delano, California was third with Stockton, California in fourth. Yakima, Washington is the first non-California city on the top 10 list in fifth place while the San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward areas were in sixth. The San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara regions were seventh on the list while Vallejo and Fairfield in California was eight. Rounding off the top 10 was Spokane, Washington and Redding, California.
Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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