Question for LE: Professional Auto Theft Prevention?

[GardoneVT]

I realize as the owner of a Z28 Camaro this is a self serving question to pose,but hopefully this helps other readers with nice cars who also don’t want to be crime victims.

What causes a particular car to be selected for targeted theft by a “pro”? Do they have a list and in “Gone in 60 seconds” style steal whatever car they find randomly in a given area thats on the list ?

Or do the thieves start with ownership info such as name and address ,watch the owners over time ,then take the cars when the owners are busy?

[txdpd]

What year Camaro? If it's a late model Camaro and they want it bad enough to go to the trouble of a stake out, they'll probably just do a bump and rob, and get the car with the keys in it. 1st or 2nd gen might get stolen for parts or the entire vehicle since a vin swap would be almost impossible to prove.

Why and which cars get stolen will vary with geography. Around here it's mostly older pickups without transponder keys, and they are mostly stolen for parts and to use in other crimes. Then 4x4 Super Duties, for parts or export to Mexico. Then Yukons, Escalades, and Tahoes for the 3rd row seats. Followed by older import cars for parts.

[Totem Polar]

Not LE, but where I am at, the hot ticket is older hondas, which are evidently used as transport in the dark hours for all sorts of trafficking. I have one friend who used to buy clean, old civics and CRXs...until the 3rd one got stolen. No shit. He finally ponied up for a newer car.

He’d come out in the morning to go to work, and his car would be gone; it always got found by the police dept. within a few days, abandoned in a sketchy neighborhood, only minus the catalytic converter (each one cut cleanly from the exhaust using a torch), minus the battery, and with the shifter, doors, console, and steering wheel sprayed with WD-40: evidently, those liam neeson and tom cruise spy flicks where they use a hankerchief to wipe prints are old-school; a shot of WD obliterates without the elbow grease.

3 cars in something like 5 or 6 years. Same thing happened to several different musician friends of mine with older toyota corollas, only the toyos get found in gravel lots on the outskirts of towns—trailheads, grain elevators, whathaveyou; for some reason, the Toyos keep the battery and cats, but the dashboards get canabalized (radio, wiring) and there’s always needles in the car.

It’s like each subculture has its own preferences: eastern block guys procure hondas as midnight tools and druggies grab corollas and dodge neons to shack up in overnight.

This thread makes me want to go buy an auto theft detective a beer. We’ve got a lot of auto theft in my area.

Following with interest, only because I know an alarming number of people whove had their car stolen, including neighbors. Again, not LE, just an observer of life.

[Malamute]

This question of stolen vehicles has me thinking about a GPS tracker and ignition cutout. One was in mine when I got it, no doubt from its sale by a used car outfit at some point, but the utility of it seemed useful. Even though I drive an older 4runner, Id hate to lose my dog, or whatever else I had in it if it got stolen. Seems like at least a better chance of recovering it faster. Do the trackers and ignition cutouts work well?

Edit: I didnt see the section this was in, my apologies for not paying attn.

[tanner]

Can't really steal new cars anymore. The ignitions with the fancy keys are bomb-proof. No keys = No car unless you tow it. Then you have a car you can't start.

So in some of the hoods around here, they will break the lock that holds the steering wheel and break the shifter to put it in neutral. Push it a few blocks (or further if they use another car to push) and then strip it down right there.

Or they just steal the wheels and tires and/or navigation systems. They are better than NASCAR teams. Fast and quiet.

Older cars? The Hondas and GMs are popular due to parts compatibility. The Pontiac 6000's were tops to be stolen around here back in the day. They were known as "Goolies" (6000LE).

We would get about 200 stolens per year when I was assigned to them. 80% were what I described above. 18% or so were insurance jobs and the rest were professional cars that got stolen and re-tagged.

[AMC]

As txpd stated, it really varies by region, the various crook groups' motivation. Older Honda's were long the most stolen cars because they were flat out the easiest to steal. And most cars stolen are used in the commission of various street level crimes, and then dumped. We have less auto theft regionally then we used to, and at this point our department literally does nothing about it. We'll enter the plate in SVS, if we find it parked with an LPR equipped car we'll tow it, but there's no investigation, and we will NOT chase a stolen car.

In years past, their were organized gangs of Russian car thieves stealing high end luxury cars all over the city (Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes, etc.). Those you weren't getting back. They were immediately driven to a container ship across the bay, and eventually shipped to either China or Eastern Europe for resale. Different animal altogether.

[GardoneVT]

Can't really steal new cars anymore. The ignitions with the fancy keys are bomb-proof. No keys = No car unless you tow it. Then you have a car you can't start.

So in some of the hoods around here, they will break the lock that holds the steering wheel and break the shifter to put it in neutral. Push it a few blocks (or further if they use another car to push) and then strip it down right there.

Or they just steal the wheels and tires and/or navigation systems. They are better than NASCAR teams. Fast and quiet.

Older cars? The Hondas and GMs are popular due to parts compatibility. The Pontiac 6000's were tops to be stolen around here back in the day. They were known as "Goolies" (6000LE).

We would get about 200 stolens per year when I was assigned to them. 80% were what I described above. 18% or so were insurance jobs and the rest were professional cars that got stolen and re-tagged.

I’ve seen videos of people using frequency scanners to duplicate the RF emitter of the key fob,allowing theives to unlock and drive the car.

[tanner]

I’ve seen videos of people using frequency scanners to duplicate the RF emitter of the key fob,allowing theives to unlock and drive the car.

No doubt.

Based on my experience, it is exceedingly rare for someone to steal a car that way.

[Joe in PNG]

No doubt.
Based on my experience, it is exceedingly rare for someone to steal a car that way.

Just saw this this morning: BMW admits it is powerless to stop thieves using gadgets which are widely available online from stealing its latest keyless models
Basically, using a repeater to "grab" the signal from the fob inside the house to open and start, and "clone" the signal so the car stays running.

[andre3k]

A z28 would be bottom of the list here. The large pickups especially F250s are the order of the day. That's what they're using to drive into buildings for smash and grabs. While traditional car thefts are still occurring but for the previous listed reasons more turds are simply acquiring them through robberies. That way you get a vehicle, possible some money and credit cards and you get a key to the vehicle instead of a screwdriver.

From what I'm seeing locally about 70% of the cars stolen are being acquired to commit another crime. They'll use it to crash into a building to commit a burglary or as a switch vehicle after a robbery.