National Insurance Crime Bureau: Vehicle Theft Drops Again in 2006

In 2006, nearly 1.2 million motor vehicles were reported stolen, which is 42,417 fewer than the number stolen in 2005 — representing the third year in a row that vehicle theft has declined.

Even so, every 26.4 seconds a vehicle is stolen in the United States, according to a recent study by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Using the FBI’s average valuation of $6,649 per stolen vehicle, this amounts to a cost of more than $7.9 billion in losses in 2006 — just in vehicle value alone.

“Hot Wheels,” the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s companion study to its annual “Hot Spots” auto theft report, examines data reported to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and determined the vehicle make, model, and model year most reported stolen in 2006.

“The decrease in vehicle thefts is certainly welcome news to law enforcement, the insurance industry and vehicle owners nationwide,” said Robert M. Bryant, NICB’s president and CEO.

The most stolen vehicles in the nation in 2006, according to stolen vehicle data reported to NCIC, were:

Although overall thefts are down for the third consecutive year, only 59 percent of stolen vehicles were recovered last year, the lowest recovery rate in more than a decade.

The more than 700,000 vehicles still not recovered last year are fueling a number of related insurance fraud and vehicle theft activities, according to NICB.

See the full report at www.nicb.org.