Task Force Puts Dent in Car Thefts

A loosely knit gang of motorcycle thieves who shipped their loot to the Netherlands. A robber who snatched new cars off dealership lots. A ring of exporters who rented luxury cars in Canada, then drove them to Southern California with phony sales certificates.

These were some of the crimes that the multi-agency Orange County Auto Theft Task Force helped crack in its second year of operation, leading to a more than 12% decrease in vehicle thefts--a rate which had been skyrocketing--since the undercover team was launched, according to a recent report by the district attorney’s office.

Before the birth of the task force, 56 vehicles were stolen daily from Orange County owners, with many of those cars and trucks landing across the Mexican border or on freighters headed overseas. That number has dropped to 46 a day--a daunting figure, but nevertheless a marked decrease, said California Highway Patrol Lt. Rick Criner, the task force coordinator.

Mid-1980s models of the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and 1988 to 1994 Honda Accords top the list of vehicles stolen in the county, Criner said.

Toyota 4-Runners, GMC extra-cab pickup trucks, Chevrolet Suburbans and other sport utility trucks also are increasingly popular among thieves who sell their goods in Mexico and Central America.

“If a professional thief sells it, it won’t be recovered. It’ll be taken apart or taken to the port and shipped around the world,” Criner said. “We knew all along that hooking on to the professional thieves and taking them out would have a major effect.”

The task force, funded by a countywide $1 vehicle registration fee, completed its second year in July 1995, operating out of a covert headquarters and daily infiltrating the world of professional auto thieves.

Vehicle thefts dropped about 5% during the task force’s second year of operation, according to the report. That came on top of a more than 7% drop the first year.

The task force made 81 arrests and recovered 316 vehicles valued at $3.9 million during the team’s second year. The team also helped local law enforcement make 73 additional arrests and recover another 37 vehicles.

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In the task force’s second year of operation, investigators swept into a local Suzuki dealership and confiscated stolen Japanese racing motorcycles from the showroom floor--bikes that the company unwittingly bought from a Santa Ana man convicted last month on 25 felony counts of vehicle theft. In another success, a new top-of-the-line Mercedes was recently returned to its Orange County owner--after taking an ocean journey to Hong Kong and back, Criner said.

The task force results have been more than satisfactory, said Loren DuChesne, chief of the district attorney’s bureau of investigation and the chairman of the task force executive board. The report covered the budget year ending July 1, 1995. But DuChesne said there was a further decline between July and December 1995, leading to an overall 17% decrease in auto theft over pre-task force days.

“There’s no question that the task force is very effective and it’s fulfilling its purpose and perhaps exceeding even our own expectations,” DuChesne said. “We’re very happy.”

The task force, and similar groups all over Southern California, sprang up when the Southland was becoming increasingly overwhelmed by a “crazy” surge in vehicle thefts, caused in part by proximity to the Mexican border and shipping routes overseas, Criner said.

From 1983 to 1992, vehicle theft in Orange County increased 120%, from 9,229 a year in 1983 to 20,332 in 1992, Criner said. He speculated that the surge was due in part to relatively strict penalties for home burglaries that helped guide a trend toward car theft.

Criminals “found out that vehicle theft was treated more like a civil violation. Prosecutions weren’t very heavy and the insurance industry took the hit,” Criner said.

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California still tops the nation for car theft, but with the birth of the task forces, “we started focusing on the professional thieves and all of us together have had an impact,” Criner said.

The Orange County task force, known as OCATT, works with a deputy district attorney now assigned full-time to follow the cases from beginning to end, and DuChesne said another deputy district attorney will soon join the task force. The task force also exchanges information with other agencies, and draws on some of the best-trained auto theft investigators from 11 local police agencies, the Sheriff’s Department, the CHP and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, DuChesne said.

Investigative work often means posing as professional car thieves and learning the intricate tricks of the trade, such as how the seasoned experts alter vehicle identification numbers so adeptly, even dealerships are often fooled.

Undercover investigators recently purchased a brand new Toyota Camry for $1,000, and a Mitsubishi Sports Car with a $44,000 dealership price-tag for $5,000, according to the report. The seller--arrested by investigators--snatched the new cars from dealership lots, slapped together phony paperwork and quickly turned the cars over to a higher-tier operator who would perform the more high-tech task of altering the car’s identification number.

“He’s trying to make a fast buck,” Criner said. “When we found out he wanted to sell a car, we purported to be brokers.”

Anyone wishing to pass on information about professional vehicle thieves can call (800) TEL-OCAT (835-6228), the task force toll-free tip line. But Criner stressed that anyone wishing to report a crime in progress should dial 911 instead.