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MLive analysis: Car thieves fall on hard times; which models are the best they can get?
John Agar | jagar@mlive.com By John Agar | jagar@mlive.com
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on August 27, 2013 at 6:20 AM, updated August 27, 2013 at 8:46 AM
Can’t car thieves do better than this?
The No. 1 vehicle stolen in Michigan is a 2000 Dodge Caravan. A 2004 Chevy Impala is next, followed by a 1997 Chevy pickup, full-size of course.
The answer: No, thieves can’t do better than this.
The reason is simple. Though fewer cops are patrolling streets, anti-theft devices have made hot-wiring a newer car virtually impossible.
It’s a major reason motor vehicle thefts have plummeted across the state, from a high of 72,000 in 1986 to just fewer than 25,000.
The story is the same from the Motor City to the River City, an MLive Media Group analysis of FBI crime statistics show. Detroit: down 42 percent per capita from 2003 to 2011, the last year figures are available. Grand Rapids: down 52 percent. Flint: down 45 percent.
Statewide, motor vehicle thefts dropped by more than half.
Technology has played a big role.
“It’s impossible to hot-wire a car anymore if it has an immobilizer,” said Terri Miller, executive director of Help Eliminate Auto Thefts, or HEAT. The insurance industry-funded organization provides rewards for information that leads to convictions.
Immobilizers include smart keys, containing computer chips needed to start the vehicle, kill switches, and devices that disable starters, ignition or fuel flow.
That’s probably why the National Insurance Crime Bureau this year said the 10 most-frequently stolen vehicles in Michigan, none were newer than 2005. Three were 1997 model years.
The bad news? Carjacking and fraud cases are on the rise. So are thefts of car parts, with vehicles stripped of expensive tires and rims, catalytic converters, airbags and electronics.
“A car is an important thing,” said Grand Rapids police Sgt. Stan Lis, who has spent half of his 30-year career overseeing an auto-theft unit.
“If you don’t have wheels, you’re not going somewhere, in this day and age.”
While thefts have gone down, fraud cases involving vehicles have gone up, Lis said. “We run about 17 to 20 percent of stolen car reports that are deemed false.”
Often, the vehicle has been traded, or loaned, for drugs. Drug dealers aren’t the most reliable at returning borrowed property.
Schemes are as simple as someone buying a car, with no money down and no payments for months, then reporting it stolen once payments are required.
In other cases, thieves target dealerships. After test drives, or listening to engines, schemers try to switch fobs to steal the car later.
TOP 10 STOLEN VEHICLES
Technology has made newer vehicles tougher to steal, which is why older models top the theft list in Michigan.
1. Dodge Caravan, 2000
2. Chevrolet Impala, 2004
3. Chevrolet pickup (full size), 1997
4. Ford Taurus, 1997
5. Dodge Intrepid, 2002
6. Ford pickup (full size), 2005
7. Pontiac Grand Prix, 1997
8. Chevrolet Malibu, 2011
9. Dodge Stratus, 2002
10. Dodge pickup (full size), 2003
Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau, 2011.
Recently, a man suspected of stealing up to a dozen vehicles from here to Detroit was arrested. He always drove new cars, so no one was suspicious when he took test drives – until he didn’t come back.
Others register non-existent cars.
Using classified ads, they find vehicles for sale in other states and obtain the vehicle identification number. They will tell their insurance company they have bought an older car, for cash, and provide the make, model and VIN.
Six months later, the car is reported stolen.
“They register cars that don’t even exist,” Lis said. “The insurance company will pay you for a car you never had. The same car is on paper in three or four different states.
He said a nationwide database of vehicles would help because “there is an inherent problem with communication with other states.”
Yet another scheme involves finding someone with good credit who is leaving for another country. Scammers pay the person to buy several new cars at once.
“He exists. His credit’s good. He gives the cars to the bad guys. He leaves with money in his pocket, and he’s never coming back,” Lis said.
Grand Rapids police will investigate such incidents as crimes, and recently helped crack a case of a man who stole motor homes across the country. But Lis said some other police agencies consider scams to be a civil problem.
Dan Vartanian is director of the Michigan Automobile Theft Prevention Authority. The authority, under the Michigan State Police, provides grants to police and prosecutors to fight car theft.
It is funded by an annual $1 assessment on each insured non-commercial passenger vehicle.
Vartanian said vehicles simply have a lot of value. Bad guys are determined to get them.
“There has been a rise in carjackings because, obviously, the easiest way to steal a vehicle is one already running, with keys in the ignition,” he said.
“It’s a big concern. You not only have a vehicle, now you’ll have a person’s life in jeopardy.”
Most of the carjackings, as well as auto thefts, occur on the east side of the state. “There’s a lot of money to be made in parts, Vartanian said.
Miller, the HEAT executive, said motorists will also report cars stolen to get out of loans, or get out of leases after driving high miles.
She said her agency and the Automobile Theft Prevention Authority have worked with police, prosecutors and others to reduce car thefts.
“We’re seeing a lot of insurance fraud. Insurance companies want to get law enforcement involved. That’s why it’s important to provide grants to police and prosecutors.”
To report information on a stolen vehicle, call HEAT at 800-242-HEAT. Rewards are offered for information leading to convictions. |
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