CAT to Go on Prowl for San Diego Auto Thieves

Faced with dramatic increases in San Diego auto thefts, anxious motorists have gone to great lengths to protect their vehicles.

Expensive alarms, identification numbers etched on car windows and hidden ignition kill switches are some of the anti-theft measures.

Now, add one more method.

San Diego police unveiled a plan this week that may give vehicle owners an innovative and cheap way to thwart auto thieves: a highly visible yellow decal affixed to the auto’s rear window and a promise by its owner not to drive during the hours of 1 and 5 a.m.

The voluntary program, dubbed CAT--for Combat Auto Theft--officially begins Saturday, according to Deputy Police Chief Mike Rice, who unveiled it Wednesday during a news conference.

Started in New York

A duplicate of a program in New York that started in 1986, CAT was embraced by San Diego police officials after they heard of its success. The curfew between 1 and 5 a.m. was chosen because most vehicles are stolen during that time, Rice said.

By enrolling in the program and signing a waiver, the owner consents to investigative stops by police during those hours.

“The impact of them (the decals) is police officers will be seeking these stickers out, and they will be vigorously stopping cars with them,” Rice said.

According to statistics from the New York Police Department, the program there has cut auto theft about 40%, Rice said. Although the program has been lauded as being ingeniously frugal, some civil libertarians have raised questions about a signed consent form that waives the Fourth Amendment right of illegal search and seizure.

The Automobile Club of Southern California is underwriting the program and has printed 10,000 decals and 20,000 brochures, said Daniel Beyer, assistant claims manager of the San Diego branch. Thus far, $2,200 has been spent on the program’s materials, he said.

To participate, vehicle owners fill out a registration form--kept by police--stating that they do not drive between 1 and 5 a.m.

Inviting a Stop

If they or anyone they lend the vehicle to drives at those hours, they understand that they will be subject to a stop if the police spot the decal, which bears a picture of a cat and the registered serial number on file with police. The form also keeps a record of the year and make of the vehicle, phone numbers to reach the owner and the vehicle’s identification number.

Enrollment will be handled by the 10 community relations offices in the city.

Lt. Charlie Grimm, of the department’s auto theft detail unit, said on average there are about 60 vehicles stolen each day in San Diego. In 1988, auto thefts soared 32% from the 18,583 reported in 1987 to 24,470, although the unit has seen a drop in the first quarter of this year.

Grimm said the department recently formed a strike unit to reduce auto thefts by zeroing in on chop shops (where stolen vehicles are altered and stripped) and series thefts by organized groups.

“The problem has been so great, I haven’t concentrated on a certain area,” Grimm said.

Besides enrolling in the CAT program, Grimm recommended that vehicle owners install some type of alarm. He said owners should take as many precautions as they can.

“I don’t know how anyone can go out and buy a new car today without investing in some type of alarm. They’ve got to be crazy.”