County Program to Create Team to Put the Brakes on Car Thieves

A plan to step up efforts to deter and prosecute professional auto thieves throughout San Diego County gained the support of top law enforcement officials who met Wednesday in Chula Vista to discuss the proposal.

County Supervisor Susan Golding, who chairs a regional auto-theft task force, proposed a plan to reduce the number of stolen cars by providing law enforcement officials with resources to detect, deter, investigate and prosecute professional auto thieves.

Over the past four years, auto thefts have cost San Diego residents more than $75 million, and, since 1980, such thefts have increased by more than 200% in the city of San Diego, according to Golding.

The program would work in part, by creating specialized law enforcement teams whose officers would concentrate on professional theft rings.

Golding proposed paying for the program by creating a state-approved $1 auto theft-prevention fee, which would generate $1.6 million annually and would be offset by a reduction in car insurance premiums.

A pilot auto theft-prevention team operating in East County has recovered more than 250 stolen vehicles worth more than $2 million and has made nearly 70 arrests in just over a year, officials said.