
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 19, 1994                   TAG: 9405190175
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

STATE PUTS THE HEAT ON AUTO THEFT

A statewide program to reduce car thefts has expanded to include police training seminars, officers stationed around the state, a rolling auto crime lab and rewards for tipsters.

Authorities say the HEAT - Help Eliminate Auto Theft - program has paid off since it began in March 1992. Vehicle theft dropped 8.4 percent that year, from 21,284 in 1991 to 19,488. The figure fell another 4.9 percent in 1993, to 18,533.

The centerpiece of HEAT is a 24-hour hot line run by the Virginia State Police to receive tips about stolen cars and ``chop shop'' operations for reselling car parts. The hot line has become more effective as citizens have become aware of it, according to the HEAT annual report released this week.

HEAT resulted in 82 arrests from March 1993 through February 1994 and recovered vehicles worth about $640,000, the report said. That's up from 37 arrests and $170,000 in recovered vehicles in the program's first year.

``It's giving us a method, a sort of clearing house for the compiling and dissemination of vehicle theft information,'' said Ralph V. Crow, who runs the auto theft unit, a team of Virginia State Police and Department of Motor Vehicles investigators.

``We've certainly been made aware of criminal acts involving organized crime by people using the hot line,'' Crow said.

The General Assembly set up the program in 1991, requiring insurance companies to pay 25 cents for every $100 of comprehensive coverage. The fee generates about $650,000 annually to pay for HEAT.

``HEAT is one example of where we're all beginning to work together - the police, the body shops, the attorneys,'' said Bruce C. Edwards, a claims manager for Nationwide Insurance in Richmond.

HEAT made its first rewards to seven citizens last year, issuing a total of $7,500 to 10 people. Michael C. Peters, the HEAT program administrator, said the largest reward was $2,500.

``We will continue to offer rewards to citizens who provide tips that lead to the arrest of vehicle theft suspects,'' Peters said. ``Last year, HEAT presented its first rewards, and we're hoping that the example set by those citizens will spur additional cooperation in the future.''

The HEAT hot line is (800)947-HEAT, or (800)947-4328.

by CNB