Once-Soaring Rate of Auto Thefts Is Leveling Off : Crime: About 70 cars a day are still stolen in San Diego. But public and police efforts have put a dent in a problem that was out of hand.

The rate of motor vehicles reported stolen in San Diego--once leaping by a staggering 30% a year--leveled off during the first half of this year as motorists and police began fighting back in earnest against car thieves.

Thieves still steal about 70 cars a day, or about one of every 42 vehicles in the city annually, driving up insurance premiums.

But the illegal trade that for years had police climbing the walls in frustration has, for now, been slowed considerably.

Police say the main reasons for the trend are improved public awareness and an undercover strike unit penetrating “chop shops” and auto-theft organizations.

“People are more security conscious. They’re finally taking more precautions to protect their vehicles,” said Lt. Charlie Grimm, who heads the Police Department’s auto theft unit.

“A few years ago, people were buying $20,000-$25,000 cars and using no security devices. Now they are. It’s common sense when you consider (a car) is usually the second-largest purchase of your life.”

Also getting credit is the police’s Combat Auto Theft program, or CAT, in which motorists affix a bright yellow decal to their vehicle’s rear window, authorizing police to make an investigative stop if the car is on the road from 1 to 5 a.m., the most active time for car thieves.

Established in April, 1989, the voluntary program has attracted only half the number of participants that officials expected--7,000 motorists countywide--but its success rate indicates that participating drivers are one-fourth less likely to have their vehicles stolen as non-participants.

That success rate has prompted San Diego police to consider a cooperative agreement with law-enforcement agencies in Los Angeles and Imperial counties and Arizona--where a similar program operates statewide--that would allow police to stop participating vehicles from outside their jurisdictions.

“This program is not for everybody--some people know they drive during the early morning--but we think it’s been pretty successful overall,” said San Diego police officer John Graham of the crime prevention unit.

Although the stolen car rate continues to soar statewide, the city of San Diego in recent months has seen a dramatic slowdown in vehicle thefts, once the city’s fastest-growing crime, according to the police crime analysis unit.

From 1985 through 1988, vehicle thefts surged at annual rates of 32%, 37% and 33%, respectively,--the highest jumps among major counties in California--but that rate of increase plunged to 6% from 1988-1989, although the actual number of stolen cars was still the highest ever.

In San Diego, 10,060 vehicles were reported stolen in 1985; 13,233 in 1986; 18,155 in 1987; 24,126 in 1988; and 25,583 in 1989.

From January through June of this year, 12,441 vehicles were reported stolen, compared to 12,754 during the same period last year. That was a 2.5% decrease, marking one of the few times in recent years that the rate has dropped.

In San Diego County, more than 60% of the vehicles reported stolen were taken within the city of San Diego, but the countywide vehicle theft rate also has leveled off.

Across San Diego County, 41,756 vehicles were reported stolen last year. During the first six months of 1989, 20,528 vehicles were reported stolen, compared to 20,620 during the same period this year, according to the California Highway Patrol.

That was a less than a 1% increase--slight in comparison to previous years when the annual theft rate was leaping, as in the city, by more than 30%.

Stealing vehicles occurs year-round with most thefts taking place in beach communities during the summer, tourism sites, downtown San Diego, parts of the South Bay and Logan Heights and, increasingly, the suburbs, officials said.

In San Diego, an about half the stolen vehicles are taken by joy riders who dump them after the thrill; 30% are taken for use in other crimes, such as drug-related activity, and 20% are sold whole or in parts, police said.

Nearly 90% of vehicles stolen locally are recovered--contrasted with a national recovery rate of 60%--but only 75% are in driveable condition, Grimm said. The rest are heavily damaged or stripped of parts.

Among California’s 58 counties, San Diego again ranked third behind Los Angeles and Orange counties in the number of vehicles stolen last year.

Contrary to popular belief, only about 5% of vehicles stolen in San Diego are transported to Mexico, Grimm said.

Considering it takes a good car thief less than 30 seconds to break into a vehicle, deterrence is the main defense, police say.

Among the most effective vehicle protection devices are electronic alarms, ignition and gas cut-off switches, computerized locking systems and bar-type devices that lock the steering wheel and brake, said Officer Bob Klidy of the CHP’s vehicle theft unit.

“All those devices are defeatable, but it’s a matter of how willing a thief is to go after your car,” Klidy said. “You increase your odds by making it more difficult for the thief.”

Police also advise turning on your expensive vehicle alarm; about 1,000 cars equipped with electronic alarms were stolen last year because the driver forgot to activate the system, Graham said.

Other common-sense precautions include parking in well-lighted areas and, even in home garages, locking vehicles and removing the keys, he added.

“And don’t leave the keys sitting on the counter in your house when you are gone--you would be surprised how often a thief breaks in, loads up the car and uses the keys to drive away,” Graham said.

Although motorists deserve most of the credit for protecting their cars, police said the department’s vehicle strike unit is helping control the problem.

Since being established in November, 1988, the seven-member unit has used informants and other means to conduct undercover operations into professional theft rings and “chop shops,” clandestine garages where stolen cars and trucks are dismantled, Grimm said.

“We’ve taken a real pro-active approach as opposed to responding after the fact,” Grimm said.

Although police have cracked down on chop shops and theft rings in many U.S. cities, arrests are made in only about 15% of vehicle thefts nationwide.

The local arrest rate has been even lower--12% in 1985, 14% in 1986, 13% in 1987, 12% in 1988 and 13% in 1989--but police expect that figure to rise this year. No mid-year data for 1990 was available. The CHP also has stepped up its officer training for sighting and apprehending car thieves, Klidy said.

Car thieves’ favored targets continue to be Toyotas, Nissans and Datsuns because of their popularity, comparatively high resale value and the ease with which their lock systems are penetrated, police said.

Car Theft Vehicle thefts appear to be leveling off this year in San Diego County. 1987: 14,641 1988: 18,970 1989: 20,528 1990: 20,620 January through June Source: California Highway Patrol