According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a vehicle is stolen every 26.4 seconds in the United States. That's an improvement over 2005, when the time clock showed every 25.5 seconds. Nationally, 2006 was the 4th straight year of decreases in vehicle theft.
The report of the NCIB shows there were just less than 1.2 million motor vehicle thefts in the United States in 2006 with an estimated value of approximately $7.9 billion dollars. In Arizona, there were 54,849 stolen vehicles in 2006, representing a slight decrease from the 2005 number.
There is some bad news, though. Only 59% of stolen vehicles were recovered in 2006. In 2005 more than 65% of stolen vehicles were recovered. The 59% recovery rate is the lowest recovery rate in over a decade.
Arizona is no longer the state with the most vehicle thefts, as was the case in 2001. As far as metropolitan areas are concerned, in 2007 the greater Phoenix area was ranked as the 8th highest rate of vehicle thefts on a per capita basis. That is an improvement over our 4th place ranking of the previous year.
For 2006, the most stolen vehicles in the nation were:
- 1991 Honda Accord
- 1995 Honda Civic
- 1989 Toyota Camry
- 1997 Ford F150 Series
- 2005 Dodge Ram Pickup
- 1994 Chevrolet Full Size C/K 1500 Pickup
- 1994 Nissan Sentra
- 1994 Dodge Caravan
- 1994 Saturn SL
- 1990 Acura Integra
For 2006, the most stolen vehicles in Arizona were:
- 1991 Honda Accord
- 1995 Honda Civic
- 2005 Dodge Ram Pickup
- 1996 Chevrolet Full Size C/K 1500 Pickup
- 1994 Nissan Sentra
- 1997 Ford F150 Series
- 1997 Nissan Altima
- 1993 Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee
- 1998 Dodge Neon
- 1995 Saturn SL
