It is possible either you or somebody you know has had a car stolen. If not, you have been lucky. Auto theft is an estimated $7.5 billion business, according to the FBI. A car is stolen every 23 seconds in the United States with a total of nearly 1.4 million vehicles stolen altogether.
Statistically, theft varies according to region with the Southern States losing 35%, the Western States 28%, the Midwestern States 20%, and the Northeastern States 17%. Even though there aren’t any particular months were cars are stolen more, between January and July, crime rates increase slightly. The lowest percentage of auto thefts occurs in February and April, probably because of fewer days in the month.
Most auto thefts do not occur in small towns but more typically in larger cities. The urban reality is that more cars are parked on the street or in open parking lots than in secured personal garages or in rural yards. Add to that the sheer amount of cars in urban areas and statistics can’t help but go up. As for police, having a large city to search through in finding a stolen car, makes it even more difficult as there are thousands of similar looking vehicles in traffic.
Statistics show that an experienced car thief can steal your car in less than a minute. Some cars are hot-wired while other thieves may just smash the drivers’ window in. For the most part, cars are seemingly stolen for the value of their parts rather than resale or personal use. According to insurance companies, a $20,000 stolen vehicle can be stripped and sold into $30,000 worth of parts.
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