Car thieves reach Accord; Honda most popular in state

Jen Lawson

Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002 | 8:55 a.m.

Vacuuming his turquoise Honda Accord at a Terrible Herbst car wash in Henderson, David Clark of Las Vegas said he wasn't surprised his car was the No. 1 vehicle stolen in Nevada last year.

"I had a different Accord stolen a few years ago when it was parked downtown," he said. "I like them, so I bought another one, but I'm keeping a closer eye on it."

The National Insurance Crime Bureau, a nonprofit organization aimed at combating vehicle theft and insurance fraud, ranks the Toyota Camry as the second most stolen car in Nevada. The Honda Civic came in third.

Nationwide, the Toyota Camry is the most stolen car, the Accord is second and the Civic is third.

"They are very popular automobiles, and there are a lot of them on the roadways," said Jamie Johnson, president of the Nevada Insurance Council. "By sheer numbers, it makes them more prone to theft."

Metro Police report that the most stolen car in Las Vegas last year was the Chevrolet Camaro, followed by the Accord and Ford Mustang. Between 800 and 1,000 cars are stolen in Clark County every month, said Sgt. Al Bechyne of Metro's auto theft detail.

Camaro owner Elizabeth Ross of North Las Vegas said she parks her car in her garage overnight, and uses The Club, an anti-theft device that attaches to the steering wheel, when she goes out at night.

"My car is my baby," Ross said while pumping gas. "I'd be so upset if it was stolen so I try to protect it."

Downturns in the economy drive up car theft because people steal cars for financial gain, Johnson said. The FBI reports that vehicle theft nationwide increased 5.7 percent between 2000 and 2001.

Bechyne said an "alarming trend" is that children as young as 12 are stealing cars.

A group of juveniles from a junior high school were caught earlier this year stealing Hondas and Toyotas and taking them on joyrides and using them to give girls rides home from school, Bechyne said. The oldest boy in the group was 14.

At the end of November, a 13-year-old was caught stealing a car from the parking lot of a casino.

"They don't differentiate between the theft of a bicycle and the theft of a car," he said. "The dollar amount doesn't mean anything to them."

This is dangerous for police as well as other drivers because the young thieves don't have driver's licenses, and often crash the cars they steal, Bechyne said.

Sometimes, but not often, cars are stolen by car thieves posing as valets. But cars are most often stolen from parking garages, especially ones on the Strip.

"The thief can go into a garage and pick whatever car they want," Bechyne said.

Some hotels, such as New York-New York, are clamping down on car theft by installing cameras that take a picture of every car entering and leaving the parking garage.

The best thing drivers can do to protect their cars is simple, Bechyne said: Drivers should lock their cars and take their keys with them. They should also park in well-lit areas and hide valuables.

People who drive theft-prone cars should install a visible theft deterrent, such as a steering wheel lock, alarm, kill switch and tracking device.

"The more layers of protection on the vehicle, the more difficult it is to steal," Johnson said.