Thread: TX-El Paso among nation's worst in auto thefts

El Paso among nation's worst in auto thefts
By Daniel Borunda / For the Sun-News
Article Launched: 04/29/2008 06:38:46 AM MDT

EL PASO — El Paso continued its slide into the top 30 worst cities for auto thefts last year though other large cities in the region did much worse, according to recently released rankings by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

El Paso was ranked No. 30 - compared with No. 51 in 2006 and No. 81 in 2005 - despite a decline in the number of vehicle thefts last year. Auto-theft investigators pointed out that larger decreases in thefts in other cities may have caused El Paso to move up in the listing.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported 4,151 auto thefts in the El Paso metropolitan area in 2007.

"El Paso is still very well noted for our full-size trucks stolen," said Officer Steven Plummer of the El Paso Auto Theft Task Force. The Chevrolet Silverado remains the favorite vehicle for thieves in El Paso.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau also reported vehicle thefts dropped nationwide according to preliminary data from the FBI. The annual rankings are determined by the number of thefts per 100,000 population.

In El Paso, the rate was 565 per 100,000, the crime bureau reported.

The national auto-theft capital was Modesto, Calif., but several Southwestern cities were in the top 10, including Laredo at number 6, Albuquerque at 7 and Tucson at 10.
El Paso police said there are links between auto theft rings in Albuquerque and the El Paso-Juárez area and that police have intercepted several vehicles stolen in Albuquerque brought south to be taken into Mexico.

"We have a lot of cooperation now with the Albuquerque Police Department," Plummer said. He said the departments are sharing information about whether thieves from El Paso are going up there or thieves from there are coming to El Paso.

El Paso police reported that auto thefts dropped slightly (19 vehicles fewer) in the first quarter of 2008. And efforts continue to fight the problem, including a license plate reader machine in a car that can quickly scan the plates of parked vehicles to learn if they are stolen.

"We, of course, do surveillance and keep tabs on the known auto thieves," Plummer said. "Generally, the majority of thefts are committed by repeat offenders and because they are good at it, it doesn't take them long to steal a vehicle."

Daniel Borunda reports for the El Paso Times, a member of the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership, and may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com;

http://www.lcsun-news.com/news/ci_9093556

is it time for a stakeout ?