ALBUQUERQUE – Auto theft decreased by 11% in a four-county metro area, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Albuquerque has now dropped from sixth to seventh place, having been listed worse in the nation from 2016-2018.
“Auto theft is a quality of life issue that has always been a top priority for me as Chief, having brought the bait car program to the city,” said Chief of Police Harold Medina. “Seeing our metro area drop in the rankings year after year shows our continued commitment to these property crimes and we hope the community is starting to see the impact.”
The report, which analyzed auto thefts from January through December of 2023, found a 1% increase in thefts nationwide. The metro is listed 7th, behind Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA in 6th; Memphis, TN at 2nd; Pueblo, CO at 3rd; Bakersfield, CA at 4th; San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA; and Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO.
Hyundai and Kia vehicles ranked among the highest makes to be stolen in 2023. NICB attributes this trend to social media demonstrations showing how to steal these vehicles quickly and easily. The Hyundai Elantra had the highest total thefts nationwide.
Auto theft reached a peak in Albuquerque in 2017 and has decreased significantly since then. Auto theft declined by 34% between 2017 and 2021 but increased again in 2022. However, the Albuquerque Metro showed an 11% decline in auto-thefts in 2023.
Among several contributing factors are APD's robust Bait Car program catching thieves in the act, a top ten Auto Theft Offender list, frequent public service announcements regarding car warm-up thefts, and detectives building stronger cases against serial auto-theft offenders.
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