National Insurance Group Announces Top Metro Locations for Car Thefts

Nov. 15, 2004
California metro areas hold six of 10 top spots on list

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported that for calendar year 2003, car thieves were most active in California. Six of the nation's ten hottest spots for vehicle theft rates are in California, while the remaining four are Phoenix-Mesa, AZ; Las Vegas, NV; Miami, FL; and Detroit, MI.

For 2003, the ten metropolitan statistical areas with the highest vehicle theft rates were:

1. Modesto, CA
2. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
3. Stockton-Lodi, CA
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. Sacramento, CA
6. Fresno, CA
7. Oakland, CA
8. Miami, FL
9. San Diego, CA
10. Detroit, MI

According to Hot Spots 2003, its annual report on auto thefts, NICB reviewed data supplied by the FBI for each of the country's 336 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). MSAs are designated by the Office of Management and Budget using Census 2000 data, and may include areas surrounding a specific city. For example, the number one Hot Spot in the current report is Modesto, CA. The Modesto MSA, however, includes data not only from the city of Modesto, but the entire county of Stanislaus in which Modesto is located.

The rate is determined by the number of vehicle theft offenses per 100,000 inhabitants.