SIU Today Fall 2017 - 21

NICB Update
By Joe Wehrle, President and CEO, National Insurance Crime Bureau

Coddling the Car Thieves
We recently attended a meeting of police chiefs from several
Chicago suburbs to discuss the problem of car thieves from the
city targeting vehicles in the suburbs. Not exactly a new concept,
but the number of thefts has risen to an alarming rate.
There is something even more alarming about these thefts. All too
frequently these cars are being stolen by young gang members to
be used in the commission of other crimes, including shootings,
drug deals and robberies. The criminals know that a juvenile, in
the eyes of the court, faces little punishment if caught stealing
a car or truck. They get caught up in the vicious cycle of gang
membership, and make their bones by stealing cars or committing
more violent crimes.
With the steep decline in car thefts from the 1.6 million a year
in the early 1990's to about 730,000 today, emphasis on car theft
prevention efforts has declined, and many of the resources
previously committed to car thefts are now targeted to prevention
of more violent crimes.
Those who argue that car theft is a non-violent crime need to
ask the police in cities like Chicago how they view it. Count
the number of guns found in those stolen cars and the number
of crimes that are connected. In California, where most of the

nation's car thefts occur, police complain that car thieves are
back on the street because of mandated early releases due to jail
overcrowding. In Albuquerque, the number one city on our annual
Hot Spots list for vehicle thefts, suspects will likely be back in
action shortly after being arrested, and law enforcement officials
say their hands are tied by a judicial system that prefers a slap on
the wrist or a "time-out" for those charged with driving away
with someone else's property. The jails are already over-crowded
with criminals who committed more "violent" crimes.
At NICB, we have a 105-year tradition of supporting law
enforcement in the prevention of vehicle crime. We share their
frustrations with reduced funding, staffing and resources to do
their jobs, and with the increasing hurdles they face in trying to
put a criminal out of commission. We continue to work with those
willing to work with us by providing our extensive resources,
personnel, and financial support as needed. We hope the theft
rate doesn't have to continue to climb before lawmakers, and the
courts begin to wake up...or more likely point the finger at law
enforcement and say, "How did you let this happen?"
Joe Wehrle is the President and CEO of the National Insurance Crime Bureau
(NICB); www.nicb.org.

SIU TODAY | FALL 2017 | 21
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SIU Today Fall 2017

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