THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 27, 1995 TAG: 9502270045
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Chesapeake recorded the nation's greatest car-theft drop in 1993, according to a crime tracking organization, but by the time detectives got the good news last week, the city's 1994 numbers were in.
And thefts had edged back up.
The organization - the National Insurance Crime Bureau, or NICB - compares the number of car thefts in a city with the population and arrives at a theft rate, or the number of car thefts per 100,000 residents. It's the same formula police use to compute crime rates.
In 1993 - when 265 fewer cars were reported stolen than during the previous year - Chesapeake led the nation with a drop in theft rate of nearly 40 percent.
But thefts rebounded in 1994, when 652 cars disappeared. That's a jump of 33 percent from 1993's tally of 490.
Even so, Chesapeake is one of the safest places to park your wheels. Of the six Hampton Roads cities with populations greater than 100,000 - which excludes Suffolk - only Newport News and Hampton led Chesapeake with fewer thefts last year.
Last year, Hampton was the safest city, with 342 thefts. Norfolk had the most thefts: 1,810.
Both cities have also recorded the biggest drops in car thefts since 1991. Hampton's thefts dropped 40 percent in the four-year period; Norfolk's dropped 38.6 percent.
In 1993, the latest year in which nationwide data is available, more than $7 million worth of cars were stolen. Most were recovered.
During that year, the NICB reported Newark, N.J., had the nation's highest theft rate - 4,073 stolen cars for every 100,000 citizens.
By contrast, Abilene, Texas, had the lowest rate - 156.
The NICB ranked 194 cities with populations of more than 100,000.
Virginia Beach was the nation's 10th-safest city for car thefts; Chesapeake ranked 12; Newport News, 25; Hampton, 31; Norfolk, 82; Richmond, 112; and Portsmouth, 121.
Like the rest of the nation, all seven Hampton Roads cities have posted general decreases in car theft since 1991.
Thefts nationwide dropped more than 7 percent from 1991 to 1994, the NICB reported. In Hampton Roads during those four years, thefts dipped 29 percent.
Better car security is part of the reason, police say.
Electronic antitheft devices, alarms, other deterrents and public education about car theft are making it more difficult for criminals, police say.
``Those deterrents definitely make a difference,'' said Portsmouth Police spokesman G.A. Brown. ``The flashing lights inside, The Club - any device designed to deter theft makes a difference.''
In Virginia Beach, the 946 cars stolen last year represent a 21 percent drop from 1993, and it's the first time thefts have been below 1,000 in at least five years.
Virginia Beach police spokesman Lou Thurston said auto-squad detectives aren't sure why the numbers dropped.
Detectives say car thefts are like burglaries. Individuals can do more to prevent them than can the police. Using antitheft devices or theft deterrents may persuade thieves to move on to another target.
And they do move on. Every 20 seconds in the nation and every 92 minutes in Hampton Roads, someone steals a car.
Police say most car thieves target older models, not new ones. That's because it takes crooks a few years to figure out the ignition systems and theft-prevention systems of new cars before they become proficient at stealing them.
The average value of a stolen car is $4,808, according to the NICB. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
CAR THEFTS IN HAMPTON ROADS
SOURCE: National Insurance Crime Bureau
KEN WRIGHT/Staff
[For a copy of the graphic, see microfilm for this date.]
KEYWORDS: CAR THEFTS by CNB