Phoenix Is Not #1
Wednesday April 23, 2008
The rate of vehicle thefts in the Phoenix area is steadily improving. In 2006 the Phoenix metropolitan area was ranked with the 4th highest vehicle theft rate in the nation, with a rate of 977 and a total of 39,535 vehicle thefts reported. In 2007 the rate declined (that's a good thing!) to 818 with 34,182 thefts reports, a decrease of over 5,000 stolen vehicles in that year. That put us 8th on the list. Here were the metropolitan areas with the highest rates of vehicle theft in the country for 2007:
- Modesto, CA
- Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
- San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
- Stockton, CA
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
- Laredo, TX
- Albuquerque, NM
- Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
- Yakima, WA
- Tucson, AZ
Generally, vehicle thefts in the country are declining. When releasing this figures, The National Insurance Crime Bureau indicated the following in their press release: "Not only is 2007 on track to be the fourth consecutive year of declining vehicle thefts, but if the preliminary figure of -7.4% holds, it will be the largest single year percent drop in thefts since 1999 and it will contribute to the overall 11% reduction in vehicle thefts, nationally, since 2000."
Just because the news is good, that doesn't mean that we can relax. At least one contributing factor to the improvement we've seen in our vehicle theft rate has to do with our awareness and vigilance when it comes to preventing auto theft.
Comments
Take it from a Modesto, CA resident: You can have the #1 spot!
We thought we’d finally given that dubious distinction to someplace — anyplace — else, but alas, here we are again.
The only consolations are the bait car videos. Since curbing theft means fighting back, our local law enforcement takes on the bad guys by tempting them with rigged rigs. Imagine their faces when the doors lock and the blue lights start flashing in the rear-view…priceless!
Want to see such rollicking fun? All you have to do is bump us out of our #1 car-thieving, joy-riding, chop-shopping spot.
To be in top-10 in the country is terrible, and 8th is simply awful. It may be an improvement on past years, but I doubt very much that it will continue that way. The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro are is considered the 6th most dangerous city in the country of more than one million people, and AZ is the 3rd most dangerous state. Something needs to be done to improve the miserable standard of living.