Fewer cars were stolen last year in the United States, but the car mecca that is California has earned the unfortunate distinction of the nation's auto-theft hotspot, according to a report this week.
The state is home to seven of the 10 metropolitan areas ranked highest in vehicle theft rates in 2004, a report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau found.
Modesto for the second year topped the list with 7,024 auto theft offenses per 100,000 residents, followed by Stockton. Las Vegas, Phoenix and Seattle also made the list, comprising mostly northern and central California metropolitan areas. San Diego ranked eighth.
Fresno, the only metropolitan area in California that has made the list every year since 1995, came in ninth.
Despite leading the pack in sheer numbers, Los Angeles had almost 2,400 fewer thefts last year, and moved from 16 to 21 in the per-capita rankings. Overall, the city tallied 73,071 stolen cars, about 53% more than the 40,749 thefts in second-place Chicago.
The high total is, in part, a result of the city's large size, said Frank Scafidi, spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which released the report Tuesday. Metropolitan areas, as defined in the report, can include areas surrounding a city. The Los Angeles metropolitan area encompasses the city of Long Beach.
Although car thefts declined in Los Angeles County, they rose statewide.
"We have a lot of people and a lot of cars in California compared to other states," said Lt. Joe Whiteford, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol who formerly managed the department's auto theft unit. "We also have a lot of young people, and young people make up a majority of car thieves."
California is also home to 80% of the nation's methamphetamine labs, according to the state attorney general's office, a statistic that tends to coincide with high car theft rates, Scafidi said.
"If you have a lot of people addicted to [meth] they are going to do things to secure the money to keep their habit going," he said. "If people leave things in their cars, that's going to present an opportunity for someone to turn that item into cash."
The most commonly stolen vehicles in Southern California insured through the American Automobile Assn. are Toyota Camrys and Honda Civics and Accords. Some cars are selected because they are easier to steal. Honda Accords and Civics and Acura Integras are popular with young people and can be "spiffed up" for street racing, said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring.
