NCJ Number
225584
Journal
THE POLICE CHIEF Volume: 75 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 56-59
Date Published
November 2008
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the efforts of vehicle-theft task forces operating in Modesto, CA, and Las Vegas, NV, which repeats the paradigm of the posses of the Old West that tracked outlaws who stole horses, the primary transportation vehicle of those days.
Abstract
Just 3 years ago (2006), escalating motor-vehicle thefts made Modesto and its surrounding county the worst area in the country for auto theft. In response, local law enforcement agencies asked the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force--with representatives from State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies--to devise new ways to combat the problem. The strategy developed relied on an extensive publicity campaign and the use of “bait” cars. The latter involves placing a car, whose model is known to be attractive to thieves, in a tempting setting with a lock down device that stops the car as soon as the thief drives it from the scene. Officers easily take suspects into custody. By the end of 2006, auto thefts in the Modesto/Stanislaus County had decreased almost 40 percent, dropping the city down to number five in the national rankings. The Las Vegas experience echoes that of Modesto/Stanislaus County. In 2005, Las Vegas ranked just below Modesto as the second highest ranking jurisdiction for auto theft nationally. Local law enforcement agencies formed a task force called the Vehicle Investigations Project for Enforcement and Recovery (VIPER). After VIPER members traveled for training to Orange County, CA, where a highly effective auto theft task force had been operating for years, VIPER went into action in its jurisdiction. By mid-2007, VIPER’s efforts had the city on track for an overall 23-percent decline in auto theft by the end of the year. 4 notes