Task Force Hopes to Put Brakes to Car Theft

A new task force is bringing together 14 state, federal and local agencies to put a dent in the more than 34,000 car thefts in San Diego County each year.

The San Diego Regional Auto Theft task force, which has an annual budget of $1.8 million, will include about four supervisors and 21 investigators from all the local police departments as well as the California Highway Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, said CHP Lt. David Stuflick, who will be managing the program.

“The focus of the task force is to bring together expertise from all agencies to combat vehicle theft,” Stuflick said.

Five of the top 100 cities in the country for per-capita auto theft are in San Diego County, with National City ranking No. 19 in 1990, and the city of San Diego ranking No. 27, Stuflick said. In contrast, Los Angeles ranked 45th on the list in 1990.

That year, National City had 1,345 car thefts, while San Diego had 24,245, according to a report by the San Diego Assn. of Governments.

The task force will allow investigators to concentrate solely on auto theft and enable agencies to communicate more easily with each other, Stuflick said.

“When you only have one investigator who may be responsible for five different areas other than vehicle theft, auto theft may not be on the top of their list,” Stuflick said.

The task force will not buy any specialized equipment, but investigators have undergone extensive training in vehicle theft, executing search warrants and surveillance training, Stuflick said.

The task force is being financed by a $1 increase in vehicle registration fees and is patterned after a pilot program begun in East County in September, 1990, Stuflick said.

In that program, which is being absorbed by the task force, 327 vehicles were recovered at a value of $2.6 million, and 92 arrests were made, Stuflick said.

According to the Sandag report, car thefts in the county rose from 29,670 in 1987 to 38,862 in 1990. The figure fell to 34,394 in 1991, the report said.