America's sky-rocketing auto theft rates continue to rise to near record-highs in 2023. A new National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) report shows that nearly 500,000 vehicles were stolen nationwide in the first half of 2023. That's a two percent increase over the first half of 2022. The NICB report was released to coincide with National Crime Prevention Month, which shines a spotlight on crime prevention and personal safety every October.
"Vehicle thefts increased to near-record highs in the United States last year, and unfortunately, current trends indicate total thefts this year may surpass 2022," said NICB President and CEO David J. Glawe. "With little deterrent to stop these criminal actors, law enforcement agencies and communities will continue to suffer."
Analyzing data from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), NICB's report showed that between January and July 2023, vehicle thefts totaled more than 80,000 thefts per month and peaked in May with 87,993 vehicles reported stolen to law enforcement.
Here's a look at the top 10 states with the highest vehicle theft rates for the first half of the year:
California is number one, though it saw a slight decrease in theft rates over 2022. Texas is second with a 9% increase.
The state with the largest increase in vehicle thefts - Illinois at 38 percent. It's followed by New York with a 20 percent increase and Ohio with a 15 percent increase year over year.
"The good news is there are several proactive and commonsense steps consumers can take to help deter vehicle theft, including the most important, which is to never leave your keys or key fob in the car," said Glawe. "Always lock the doors and roll up your windows and never leave valuables in plain sight; instead place them in your trunk or out of sight."
For more stats and tips on how to prevent vehicle theft visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Vehicle Theft Prevention page.
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