CSULB
auto theft lower than Long Beach city rate
By Cassady Jeremias
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
About 50 cars are stolen each year from
parking lots and streets around Cal State
Long Beach according to University Police
statistics released in June.
Despite some reports of theft this summer,
Captain Stan Skipworth of the University
Police said most theft occurs when more
people and vehicles are around, for example
in the fall and spring semesters, between
7 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The university's close proximity to the
freeways, port and main thoroughfares like
Seventh Street, Atherton Street and Bellflower
Boulevard make it easy for criminals to
make a fast getaway. But despite the desirable
location for thieves, Skipworth said CSULB's
rates for auto theft are low.
"They are extraordinarily low, which
bodes well for the community, and for the
preparation of drivers parking appropriately
and using security measures." Skipworth
said.
California is known as a hot spot for car
thefts according to Sgt. Paul Lebaron of
the Long Beach Police Department. Lebaron
listed the ports, extensive freeways and
a criminal's ability to not only get on
a freeway, but to get out of the country
quickly, as the main reasons for the high
numbers.
Los Angeles and Long Beach ranked 19th in
the nation for car thefts according to a
study done by the National Insurance Crime
Bureau released in June. Nine California
cities made it into the top 20. Fresno was
number two, followed by Modesto, Stockton,
Sacramento, Oakland, Riverside and Visalia.
The bureau's study showed nine out of the
top 10 metropolitan areas were close to
either ports, the Canadian or Mexican borders,
or within easy reach of them.
Recently the Insurance Crime Bureau has
collaborated with the Bureau of Customs
and Border Protection to fight vehicle theft
at the borders. They have started using
devices to digitally record license plates
on inbound and outbound vehicles at 12 border
crossings around the country. The Insurance
Crime Bureau will analyze the data collected
to help prosecute organized theft and insurance
fraud rings.
The percentage of cars recovered in Long
Beach last year was 88 percent and the bureau
reported the national average of recovery
was 62 percent down from 80 percent in the
early '90s Lebaron said.
The most popular cars stolen locally are
the 1993 Honda Civic, 1989 Toyota Camry,
1996 Honda Accord, 1992 Honda Civic and
the1987 Toyota Camry.
Skipworth said the rate of cars stolen per
year at CSULB includes a few misleading
details.
"Between 5 and 10 percent of cars reported
stolen are actually cars that people have
lost, and reported stolen," he said.
He said he would estimate about three to
six of the cars reported stolen were later
found by the owners who simply were in such
a hurry they forgot where they parked, and
thought the car was gone.
"Sometimes it is a crime of opportunity,
when someone needs a ride. Or it is a crime
of income, and they make money from the
resale value. Other times it is for vandalism
or maliciousness." Lebaron said.
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