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Pennsylvania - Growing More Hostile to Auto Thieves

10 October 2000

Pennsylvania - Growing More Hostile to Auto Thieves; Officials Cite Success in Reducing Vehicle Thefts

    HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 6 State officials said today that
Pennsylvania's efforts to fight car thieves are producing positive results.
Special anti-theft units throughout the state, working with grant funds
collected from auto insurance companies, are reporting increasing numbers of
arrests, convictions, and recovered stolen property.
    State Attorney General Mike Fisher noted that while the FBI says stolen
vehicles constitute a $7.5 billion industry in the U.S., "We're fighting to
shut auto theft down in Pennsylvania.  Statistics collected from 13 anti-theft
units funded by the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority tell me our
effort is headed in the right direction."
    Fisher said he is encouraged that the Authority's data show marked
increases in the value of recovered stolen property, while the numbers of
arrests and convictions by grantee units rose last year.  State Police
Commissioner Paul J. Evanko agreed.
    "Gov. Tom Ridge put a priority on public safety, and that has included a
crackdown on auto thieves," said Evanko.  "The numbers show that we are
winning this battle in Pennsylvania."
    Statewide data on auto theft are reported on a calendar-year basis in the
Pennsylvania State Police Uniform Crime Report.  The 1998 report, released
last fall, showed that from 1994 to 1998, the first years of the Authority's
existence, the number of vehicle thefts reported in the state decreased
22 percent.
    Julia K. Hearthway, chair of the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention
Authority, predicted that a downward trend will again be evident when the new
UCR figures are released this fall.
    "I have no doubt that the news on auto theft for 1999 will also be good,
based on what our grantees are telling us," she said.  "We already know that
the 13 investigative and prosecuting units that receive our grant funds are
making tremendous progress."
    The Authority's 13 grantees -- police departments and district attorney's
offices throughout Pennsylvania -- reported 1,638 arrests in 1999, up from
1,326 the previous year, a 24 percent increase.  Convictions for auto theft
rose from 390 to 480, up 23 percent in 1999.
    "Looking at cost impact, these units, during the fiscal year 1999-2000,
recovered an estimated $28.3 million worth of stolen cars and another $4.9
million worth of parts.  If you total what they've recovered since 1995, the
value of recovered vehicles and parts is $97 million," Hearthway said, noting
that during that same five-year period, the Authority approved grants totaling
$25.6 million.
    As positive as the reports from the field have been, the war on auto theft
is far from over.  The Authority's support of local police and prosecutors is
designed to support those on the front lines.
    "The Authority's assistance to law enforcement agencies has proven
invaluable," Evanko said.  "Working together, we have zeroed in on organized
criminals who specialize in vehicle theft."
    "We have a message to would-be auto thieves in Pennsylvania," Fisher said.
"Law enforcement takes auto theft very seriously and we're not going to let up
on you.  If you steal a car in Pennsylvania, we are going to investigate you,
we're going to prosecute you and we're going to put you in jail."
    This week, the Authority began running a new public awareness TV spot in
Pennsylvania's three largest broadcast markets -- Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and
Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York.  The 30-second message, filmed in western
Pennsylvania, invokes the emotional attachment car owners have for their
vehicles and encourages them to take action to use anti-theft precautions.

    More on the Pennsylvania Auto Theft Prevention Authority
    Act 171 of 1994, which created it, empowers the Authority to collect
annual assessments from all auto insurance companies doing business in the
state.   These assessed funds -- totaling some $5.2 million in fiscal year
1999-2000 -- provide additional personnel and equipment to police and
prosecutors.
    The 13 investigative units funded by the Authority are:
    -- Allegheny County District Attorney's Office
    -- Cumberland County District Attorney's Office
    -- Delaware County District Attorney's Office
    -- Erie Bureau of Police
    -- Harrisburg Bureau of Police
    -- Lehigh County District Attorney's Office
    -- Millcreek Township Police
    -- Northeast Pennsylvania Task Force
    -- Pennsylvania State Police (Eastern, Central and Western Regional Task
         Forces)
    -- Philadelphia District Attorney's Office
    -- Philadelphia Police Major Crimes Auto Theft Unit
    -- Pittsburgh Police Department Auto Squad
    -- York County District Attorney's Office
    Public outreach programs funded by the Authority are:
    -- Boy Scouts of America, Cradle of Liberty Council
    -- Pennsylvania Anti-Car Theft Committee