The U.S.'s skyrocketing automotive crime wave is making headlines. Recent data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) shows that more than one million vehicles were stolen in 2022, which equates to about two vehicles stolen every minute.
| Year | Estimated Total Thefts |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 801,023 |
| 2020 | 888,011 |
| 2021 | 937,976 |
| 2022 | 1,001,967 |
“We are seeing vehicle theft numbers that we haven’t seen in nearly 15 years, and there is very little deterrent to stop criminals from committing these acts as they are just property crimes, like shoplifting,” said David J. Glawe, President and CEO of the National Insurance Crime Bureau. “We must reinvest in local law enforcement, provide the necessary resources for prosecution and community policing programs, and implement early intervention programs given the high incidence of juvenile offenders involved in vehicle thefts."
CBS News covered the story recently and also reported that the NICB’s foreign operations unit repatriated more than 2,000 stolen vehicles that had been trafficked to foreign countries in 2022.
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