San Diego : Police to Go Public in Effort to Curb Rising Auto Theft Rate

The San Diego Police Department will begin a six-month public awareness campaign to try to stem an auto theft rate that has increased nearly 60% in the last five years, officials said Monday.

Police Chief Bill Kolender said the campaign will use a series of public service announcements to emphasize steps that owners can take to protect their vehicles. Citing FBI figures, Kolender said that 80% of all cars stolen last year were unlocked at the time, and in 40% of the cases the owner had left the keys in the ignition.

“A good portion of these are opportunity thefts,” Kolender said. “Obviously, in many of these instances the thefts could be prevented by the owners working with us to secure their vehicles.”

According to police statistics, more than 10,000 cars were stolen in San Diego last year. Key targets for auto thieves are large shopping centers and fast food and convenience stores, Kolender said. The most popular vehicles with thieves are mini-trucks and Japanese imports. Kolender said the Japanese imports, especially, are easy to get into.

Areas most hard-hit by car thefts are Southeast and the central and western parts of the city. More than 2,000 cars were stolen in the western part of San Diego last year. Authorities attribute the high rate in these areas to availability. “There are just more cars to be stolen in some of these areas,” said Sgt. John Slough, of the Crime Prevention Unit.

There was also an increase in car thefts in the South Bay region because illegal aliens coming across the border use stolen cars for transportation, Kolender said. Most of these cars are recovered in the San Clemente area, he said. Overall, 82% of stolen cars are eventually returned to their owners, Kolender said.