Definition

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines motor vehicle theft as the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. This offense includes the stealing of automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, motorscooters, snowmobiles, etc. The taking of a motor vehicle for temporary use by persons having lawful access is excluded from this definition.

Trend

National Volume, Trends, and Rates

There were an estimated 1,246,096 motor vehicle thefts in the United States during 2002, which was a 1.4 percent increase in volume when compared to the 2001 estimate and a 0.3 percent increase over the 1998 estimate. The estimated number of motor vehicle thefts decreased 20.3 percent when compared to the 1993 estimate. (See Table 1.)

The rate of motor vehicle thefts in the Nation in 2002 was an estimated 432.1 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, which was a 0.4 percent increase over the 2001 rate. The rate of motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 inhabitants decreased 6.0 percent when compared to the 1998 rate and 28.7 percent from the 1993 rate. (See Table 1.)

Community Types

The UCR Program defines three community types: Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), cities outside MSAs, and rural counties. Additional information regarding community types is presented in Appendix III.

The estimated motor vehicle theft rate per 100,000 inhabitants during 2002 was 498.6 in MSAs, 207.6 in cities outside MSAs, and 132.8 in rural counties. (See Table 2.)

Regional Offense Trends and Rates

As shown in Appendix III, the UCR Program divides the Nation into four regions: the Northeast, the Midwest, the South, and the West. An examination of motor vehicle theft data by region indicated the following:

The Northeast

In 2002, 18.8 percent of the Nation's population resided in the Northeast. This region accounted for an estimated 13.1 percent of all motor vehicle thefts. (See Table 3.) The rate of stolen vehicles in the Northeast was an estimated 300.8 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, a 5.4 percent decrease from the previous year's data. (See Table 4.)

The Midwest

The Midwestern Region, accounting for 22.6 percent of the U.S. population, had an estimated 18.8 percent of all motor vehicle thefts in the Nation. (See Table 3.) In 2002, the Midwest had an estimated rate of 359.4 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 inhabitants, which was a 5.2 percent decline from the previous year's rate. (See Table 4.)

The South

The most populous region, with 35.8 percent of the Nation's inhabitants, the South had the highest percentage of  motor vehicle thefts, 35.2 percent. (See Table 3.) In 2002, the South had a rate of 424.3 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 in population, which was a 1.1 percent decrease from the 2001 estimate. (See Table 4.)

The West

The Western Region, with 22.8 percent of the Nation's population, had an estimated 32.9 percent of the motor vehicle theft offenses. (See Table 3.) The region had the highest estimated rate, 625.1 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 inhabitants. The region had the only increase, 8.0 percent, in rate from 2001 to 2002. (See Table 4.)

Population Groups: Trends and Rates

In the UCR Program, cities are grouped according to population size and counties are classified as either suburban or rural. (Additional information about population groups is located in Appendix III.) In 2002, the Nation's cities collectively had a 0.2 percent increase in the number of motor vehicle thefts. Cities with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants had the largest increase of motor vehicle thefts, 2.7 percent, from the previous years' total.

Both suburban and rural counties had increases in the number of motor vehicle theft offenses when comparing 2001 to 2002 data—6.8 percent in suburban counties and 3.4 percent in rural counties. (See Table 12.)

During 2002, cities overall had a rate of 564.7 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 inhabitants. Cities with populations of 250,000 and over had the highest rate at 927.8, and cities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants had the lowest rate at 229.9 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 in population. Suburban counties had a rate of 302.7 motor vehicle theft offenses per 100,000 inhabitants. In rural counties, the rate was 143.4. (See Table 16.)

Offense Analysis

By vehicle type, automobiles were stolen at a rate of 337.5 cars per 100,000 inhabitants. Trucks and buses (commercial vehicles) were stolen at a rate of 85.2 vehicles per 100,000 in population, and other types of vehicles at a rate of 35.9. (See Table 19.)

In the Nation, 73.6 percent of stolen vehicles were automobiles. Of the vehicles stolen in the Northeast, 88.5 percent were automobiles; in the Midwest, 78.5 percent, and in the West, 70.8 percent. In the South, 69.8 percent of the motor vehicles stolen in that region were automobiles. (See Table 2.30.)

The average value of motor vehicles reported stolen in 2002 was $6,701. The estimated total value of all motor vehicles stolen was $8.4 billion. (Based on Tables 1 and 23.)

Clearances

The UCR Program considers an offense to be cleared by arrest or "solved" when at least one person is arrested, charged with the commission of the offense, and turned over to the court for prosecution. A clearance by exceptional means can be recorded when the offender has been identified and located and there is enough evidence to support an arrest, but conditions beyond law enforcement's control prevent an agency from bringing charges. More information about clearances is available in Section III of this publication.

Of the motor vehicle thefts committed in the Nation in 2002, 13.8 percent were cleared by arrest or exceptional means. Cities overall had a motor vehicle theft clearance rate of 12.8 percent. Of all the city population groupings, cities with populations under 10,000 persons had the highest clearance rate at 26.3 percent; the Nation's largest cities, those with 250,000 or more inhabitants, had the lowest clearance rate at 10.3 percent. Rural counties cleared 27.9 percent of motor vehicle thefts by arrest or exceptional means, and suburban counties cleared 15.7 percent. (See Table 25.)

By region, the Northeast had the highest clearance rate, 15.7 percent. The South cleared 15.6 percent of the motor vehicle theft offenses reported in that region and the Midwest, 14.9 percent. The West cleared 10.8 percent of the motor vehicle thefts brought to law enforcement's attention. (See Table 26.)

Clearances and Juveniles

The UCR Program also considers an incident cleared by arrest if an offender under the age of 18 is physically arrested or if the individual is cited to appear before juvenile authorities. According to UCR guidelines, any clearance that involves both adult and juvenile offenders is listed as an adult clearance. Clearances involving only juveniles (those under age 18) accounted for 18.2 percent of all motor vehicle theft clearances. In cities overall, 18.5 percent of motor vehicle theft clearances involved juveniles only. Among the population groups labeled as city, those cities with populations of 500,000 to 999,999 inhabitants had the highest percentage of juvenile clearances at 21.1 percent. Cities with populations of 100,000 to 249,999 and those with 10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants had the lowest percentage of juvenile clearances at 17.1 percent each. Law enforcement agencies in rural counties reported 19.7 percent of clearances involved juveniles; suburban county law enforcement officials reported 16.1 percent of motor vehicle theft clearances involved only juveniles. (See Table 28.)

Arrests

Throughout the United States in 2002, there were an estimated 148,943 arrests for motor vehicle theft. (See Table 29.) Two-, 5-, and 10-year trend data showed that the number of motor vehicle theft arrests in the Nation was 3.9 percent higher than in 2001 but 0.8 percent lower than the number of motor vehicle theft arrests in 1998. The number of motor vehicle theft arrests during 2002 was 26.4 percent lower than in 1993. (See Tables 32, 34, and 36.)

The rate of motor vehicle theft arrests was 52.3 per 100,000 inhabitants in the United States. Among the four geographic regions, the West had the highest arrest rate for motor vehicle theft at 74.9 per 100,000 inhabitants; the Midwest, 54.9; the South, 39.2; and the Northeast, 34.6. (See Table 30.)

An examination of arrests by those population groups labeled as city showed that the Nation's largest cities, those with 250,000 inhabitants or greater, had the highest arrest rate for motor vehicle theft at 109.1 per 100,000 in population. Cities with populations of 25,000 to 49,999 had the lowest arrest rate at 31.8 per 100,000 in population. Law enforcement agencies in suburban counties reported a motor vehicle theft arrest rate of 36.9 per 100,000 inhabitants; rural law enforcement agencies reported a rate of 29.5. (See Table 31.)

By age, of those persons arrested for motor vehicle thefts in 2002, 63.8 percent were under the age of 25 and 30.4 percent were under the age of 18. Adults comprised 69.6 percent of motor vehicle theft arrestees. (See Tables 38 and 41.)

By sex, 83.5 percent of motor vehicle theft arrestees were males. (See Table 42.) Overall arrests of males for motor vehicle theft during 2002 increased 3.9 percent when compared to 2001 arrest totals; arrests of male juveniles decreased 5.6 percent. Arrests of females increased 4.0 percent from 2001 to 2002; however, arrests of female juveniles from 2001 to 2002 decreased 6.2 percent. (See Table 37.)

During 2002, 60.4 percent of arrestees for motor vehicle theft were white, 36.5 percent were black, and the remainder were of other races. Of juvenile arrestees, whites accounted for 58.3 percent and blacks accounted for 38.3 percent. The remaining percentage was comprised of juveniles of other races. (See Table 43.)

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Figure 2.18

Motor Vehicle Theft

Percent Change from 1998

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