Preventing Car Crimes

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Abstract

This guide is designed to help merchants and retailers partner with local law enforcement to assess their auto theft, car break-in, and vehicle vandalism problems and to develop strategies to address them. The guide walks readers through the process of understanding their car crime problem; collecting crime data; identifying potential strategies; and measuring the impact of those strategies. While each jurisdiction's problems will be different, effective strategies may include: introducing bike patrols; improving lighting; restricting pedestrian traffic; and requiring tickets to both enter and exit parking facilities. This guide is one in a series of six crime prevention publications that focus on employing public/private partnerships to address crime.

Understanding Car Crime

The umbrella term “car crime” includes several different car-related crimes: auto theft; theft of personal items from a car, such as clothing or CDs; theft of car parts or accessories, such as hub cabs or car stereos; and vandalism to a car. Unlike retail burglary or shoplifting incidents, which have direct impacts on a business, car crimes have a direct impact on customers and employees. Nonetheless, car crimes can have a secondary effect on businesses in that customers may be less inclined to patronize retailers whose parking facilities put their cars and possessions at risk of theft and damage.

Characteristics of Car Crime

PERPETRATORS. Car thefts are committed by both professionals and amateurs. Professionals typically favor cars with greater resale values, either as spare parts or as entire vehicles. Amateurs tend to be joyriders and favor cars that are easy to hot wire, have good acceleration, or fun to drive.

LOCATION. The place a car is parked has a lot to do with the risk of car crime. In fact, vandalism to cars, thefts of car parts/ accessories, and thefts of personal items are not typically premeditated acts. Rather, these crimes tend to occur because a car was parked in an unsecured location with a large number of other cars, in places where perpetrators go unnoticed or can easily escape. The following are some locations most prone to car crime:

• Large parking facilities, such as those at a shopping mall;
• Parking facilities located in urban areas;
• Parking facilities with easy access to freeways;
• Surface lots with several pedestrianaccess points, inadequate lighting, poor surveillance, or little perimeter or access control; and
• Facilities located near schools, which attract greater risk of theft due to the proximity of juveniles prone to vandalism and more serious offenses.

TIME. The times of day and days of week when car crime occurs depends on parking facility usage patterns. Theft and vandalism are most prevalent when there is little surveillance or guardianship over vehicles. Cars left unattended for extended periods, such as during the workday or overnight, are at greater risk than those parked for short periods. In most climates, seasonality plays some role in car crimes as well, as perpetrators are more active in warmer weather months.

(End of excerpt. The entire guide is available in PDF format.)

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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