NCJ Number
235630
Date Published
September 2010
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report analyzes the patterns of motor-vehicle theft in Nevada for the years 1994-2008 and describes motor-vehicle anti-theft strategies pursued by Nevada law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
In Nevada during 2008, approximately 16,000 motor vehicles were stolen. Since 1994, the State's motor-vehicle theft rate has been far above the national average. The most frequently stolen vehicles are older model popular automobiles, such as the 1992 Honda Accord and 1990 Toyota Camry. Approximately 7 percent of motor-vehicle thefts known to police are cleared by arrest. Most individuals arrested for motor vehicle theft are men over 18 years old. Although the number of auto thefts in Nevada was higher than the national figure in 2008, the average loss for each theft was lower than the national average. In response to the increase in motor vehicle theft in Nevada, law enforcement has increasingly targeted offenders; for example, in 1999 the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) instituted VIPER (Vehicle Investigations Project for Enforcement and Recovery), a task-force dedicated to motor-vehicle theft within its property crime unit. VIPER focused on anti-theft operations (e.g., using decoy vehicles) and combating "chop shops." In 2003, the LVMPD began participating in a nationwide campaign known as Watch Your Car (WYC), in which cars displaying a WYC decal are subject to stops by law enforcement between the hours of 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. VIN etching (etching the owner's vehicle identification number into different parts of the car) has also been promoted. Although reliable, independent evaluations have yet to document the effectiveness of these particular programs, these efforts are based on the principles of situational crime prevention that have proven to reduce the opportunities and increased the costs for offenders who engage in other types of property crime. 3 tables and 7 references