Automotive larceny continues to rise sharply in the USA, with many of the crimes occurring in certain states and “hotspots,” according to car theft data collected by the National Insurance Crime Bureau or NICB.
The sharp increase in car theft began after 2019 according to NICB, hitting 1,008,756 thefts during 2022 and rising about one percent year-over-year to 1,020,729 thefts during 2023.
The three states seeing the highest number of car theft incidents during 2023 were California, Texas and Florida, following patterns already seen in earlier years. California maintained a considerable lead with 208,668 cars stolen, or about a fifth of all the thefts in the U.S. for the year. Texas saw 115,013 vehicles stolen, while thefts numbered 46,213 in Florida.
Most thefts occurred in high-population urban areas and city neighborhoods, while car theft numbers remained low in the suburbs and rural America, not only in absolute numbers, but in thefts per capita. The number of stolen vehicles per 100,000 population was highest in Washington, D.C., at just under 1,150 thefts per hundred thousand population, or three times the typical large U.S. city. Car thefts also exploded by 64 percent in D.C. between 2022 and 2023.
The NICB president David Glawe noted that “criminals are employing increasingly sophisticated methods to steal vehicles,” using techniques such as “keyless entry hacks” and “relay attacks on key fobs.” He says these methods are “exploiting vulnerabilities in modern vehicle security measures with alarming success rates,” leading to both “financial losses” and “significant distress and inconvenience for affected individuals.”
GM Authority has covered a number of recent car theft incidents and other automotive crimes. California made the list with a Chevy Camaro being set ablaze during an illegal sideshow, with two females cavorting atop the burning vehicle while being filmed by the raucous crowd. Another Camaro was totaled after being stolen from a GM depot in Michigan. Teenager theft of Camaros in Los Angeles has exploded 1,000 percent over the past few months.
At a time of year when luxury car ATP usually rises.
Sales decreased 5.6 percent to 16,670 units during the first ten months of 2024.
Specifically critical minerals supply chain development.
Scheduled for a Spring 2025 launch.
View Comments
When felons (and many times, violent felons) are not prosecuted, what do you expect?
Arrested, booked, then permitted to walk out the front door, in order to commit more crimes . It is disheartening , abhorrent and just plain dangerous to the public. Stay safe.