It’s not like the 1990s, but motor vehicle thefts have been on the rise in recent years. In 2017, the latest year tracked by the FBI, vehicle thefts were up 10.4 percent compared to 2013. Vehicle thefts are also up from 2016 by a modest 0.8 percent.
There were an estimated 773,139 thefts of motor vehicles nationwide in 2017. That’s a rate of about 237 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants. The average dollar loss per stolen vehicle was $7,708.
Interestingly, some car security companies say they are seeing increased consumer awareness about theft protection, not because of the uptick in crime, but because of products like the Ring Video Doorbell.
Compustar’s Justin Lee said “The Ring Doorbell has paved the way for home security. People realize it’s something you can just go to the store and buy; you don’t have to go through a traditional home security system. We’ve seen this positively impact the consumer awareness of similar technology for the car, whether it’s smartphone notification when an alarm is triggered or a dashcam.”
Ring has about 1 million or more customers (it was purchased by Amazon last year for over $1 billion).
Nearly $6 billion was lost nationwide to motor vehicle thefts in 2017, said the FBI.
Vehicle thefts started dropping below 1 million per year around 2007/2008. So while vehicle thefts have gained in recent years, compared to 2008, they are down almost 20 percent.
NAV-TV says relay attacks on push-to-start vehicles with passive keyless entry are on the rise.
Home burglaries are actually down, said the 2017 FBI crime report.
In 2017, there were an estimated 1,401,840 burglaries, a decrease of 7.6 percent when compared with 2016. The number of burglaries decreased 27.4 percent when compared with 2013 and fell 37.1 percent compared with the 2008.
For more FBI data on vehicle theft click here.
