Vehicle theft state’s fastest-rising crime Every year in the United States, more than 1.1 million vehicles are stolen. After resisting the trend for a while, Hawai’i, thanks primarily to O’ahu, has joined the trend. Theft of trucks, cars and sports
Vehicle theft state’s fastest-rising crime
Every year in the United States, more than 1.1 million vehicles are stolen.
After resisting the trend for a while, Hawai’i, thanks primarily to O’ahu, has joined the trend. Theft of trucks, cars and sports utility vehicles is the fastest-rising crime in the state.
And now, Kaua’i seems to be getting into the game.
There were 16 car and truck thefts here last month alone and a total of 78 in the first 10 months of the year.
In 1997, 80 vehicle thefts were reported in the entire year, and 26 vehicles were recovered. Statistics for 1998 through 2000 were unavailable.
Another disturbing trend, according to acting police chief Wilfred Ihu, is that officers on Kaua’i are recovering fewer of the stolen vehicles, which leads to unofficial speculation that there might be a “chop shop” on the island.
Only 26 stolen vehicles have been recovered this year, so the thinking is that cars are being torn down and parted out, since vehicles taken for joy rides are almost always discovered within a few days of their theft.
Thirteen of the 16 vehicles stolen in October were taken in Lihu’e or Kapa’a. None of those thefts occurred in the Waimea district.
The afternoon and evening seems to be the most popular time for stealing a car. Ten of the thefts last month happened between 3 and 11 p.m.
Nationally, nearly 40 percent of all vehicle thefts occur in or near ports and border communities, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. And each year, nearly 200,000 of the 1.1 million vehicles stolen in the United States are exported illegally.
“People who live in these areas should take special care to protect their cars and trucks from thieves,” said Robert Bryant, president of NICB.
Ihu allowed that some of the cars stolen on Kaua’i may be being shipped off-island for sale elsewhere.
“They are getting rid of these vehicles somewhere,” he said.
Ihu noted that burglaries and break-ins were also up dramatically in October. He stressed that drugs are likely to be a motivation in the rise of car thefts and burglaries.
“Any time you see an increase, you look for drug involvement. A lot of these (thieves) are repeat offenders. It’s not unusual to solve 20 to 30 of these crimes with one or two arrests,” Ihu said.
In vehicle thefts, as in many other trends, Los Angeles, Calif. is leading the pack. More than 65,000 vehicles were stolen there last year, 20,000 more than were stolen in second-place New York City.
The most-stolen cars in the United States in 1999 were, in order, the 1990 Honda Accord-EX, the 1990 Toyota Camry, the 1996 Nissan Sentra, the 1989 Toyota Camry, the 1991 Honda Accord LX, the 1993 Honda Accord LX, the 1995 Dodge Neon, the 1995 Ford Taurus, the 1995 Honda Accord EX and the 1997 Honda Accord EX.
1999 was the third straight year that Japanese imports made up more than 75 percent of the most-stolen cars in the United States.
To protect vehicles from being stolen, the National Insurance Crime Bureau recommends:
– Common sense. Remove keys from the ignition, and lock the
doors.
– Anti-theft devices that are visible (steering wheel locks) and
audible (alarms).
– Immobilizing devices, including “smart” keys and kill switches.
– Tracking devices.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
