Increase in Las Vegas auto thefts blamed on recession, smarter criminals

Jackie Valley and Marie Mortera

Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011 | 2 a.m.

Las Vegas reached first place on a not-so-coveted list several years ago as the U.S. city with the most car thefts. Aggressive law enforcement campaigns led to a significant decrease.

Bad news: Auto thefts have begun creeping back up in Las Vegas, bucking a national downward trend.

Law enforcement officials blame the increase on several factors, such as the sour economy and smarter thieves who are catching on to police tactics to nab them.

Through July 23, Metro Police have received 3,714 reports of stolen vehicles, a 5.4 percent increase compared with the same time frame last year, authorities said.

Some neighborhoods were hit harder: Auto thefts increased by 27 percent west of downtown to Decatur Boulevard, and by more than 10 percent in the area around the Strip — from Interstate 15 on the west to Swenson Street on east and Sahara Avenue in north and Russell Road on the south.

Downtown Las Vegas and the northwest valley — Charleston Boulevard on the south, Decatur on the east — bucked that trend, with auto thefts decreasing by about 15 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively.

Nationally, the number of stolen vehicles reported in 2010 dropped by 7.2 percent from 2009, according to preliminary FBI crime data.

The neighborhoods with higher percentage increases tend to have greater concentrations of vehicles — the Meadows mall, for instance — with specific auto brands desired by thieves, said Sgt. Todd Richter of Metro’s VIPER (Vehicle Investigations Project for Enforcement and Recovery) task force.

“Wherever there’s a high amount of vehicles, that’s where the thieves go,” he said, adding that malls and gyms are prime targets because people leave their cars for more than a few minutes.

As police work to curb the thefts, they are running into repeat offenders and people who have stolen multiple cars in one day, Richter said.

In one instance, an auto thief stole four vehicles in one day and planted them in a neighborhood where he planned to commit burglaries. If he ran into trouble, he had getaway cars, Richter said.

“Suspects will place cars all over — that way, if they need a car, there’s one,” Richter said.

Other thieves steal for joy rides, to get from one place to another when they abandon them or to strip for their parts, Richter said.

“There is no set pattern,” Richter said. “Anything you can imagine that these cars are being used for, they are.”

Those motives often determine the types of cars stolen. Thieves typically target older model Acuras and Hondas or large-model GM vehicles produced before 2007 for joy riding because they’re known to have fewer anti-theft tools.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau list of the 10 most-stolen vehicles for 2010 supports that. The 1994 Honda Accord tops the list of stolen vehicles nationwide, followed by the 1995 Honda Civic and 1991 Toyota Camry.

Richter said car crooks in Las Vegas have been targeting larger-model domestics, such as Escalades and Tahoes, because their parts are interchangeable. Just over half of the vehicles stolen in Las Vegas last year were domestic, according to Metro data.

Police said it’s difficult to pinpoint why auto thefts have increased this year. It could partially stem from thieves learning how to thwart law enforcement tactics, such as bait cars, said Timothy Bedwell, North Las Vegas Police spokesman.

“As we develop technology and strategies, they develop counterstrategies,” he said.

Auto thefts in North Las Vegas have increased 7 percent through June 28 compared with last year. Stolen vehicle reports in Henderson, however, have dropped by 19.5 percent from January through July compared with the same time span in 2010, police said.

Henderson Police attributed the decrease in auto thefts, in part, to the arrests of three people who detectives think stole many vehicles through the years. Police also installed signs in parking lots prone to auto thefts warning would-be thieves that a bait car is in the lot, Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul said.

Police said auto theft detectives are constantly tweaking strategies, looking for better ways to use bait cars and informants to track and catch thieves.

To prevent auto thefts, law enforcement officials’ advice is simple: Lock cars. Take valuables out. Use alarm systems.

Even so, Richter said owners of the car models most often stolen might be out of luck. Thieves can steal those cars “in a matter of seconds,” he said.

Valley is a law enforcement reporter for the Sun; Mortera is the Crime Tracker 3 reporter and 4 p.m. anchor for News 3.