Jun 30, 2009

Texas Gets Tough on Auto Theft

The word is out in Texas. Steal a car, truck, motorcycle or heavy equipment vehicle in the Lone Star state, and the Texas Auto Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA) task force will hunt you down. Since 1991, undercover and street vehicle theft investigators from federal, state, county and city entities, through grants from ABTPA, have banded together to fight vehicle-related crimes in Texas. Those efforts have reduced auto theft by 61 percent, but these task forces won’t rest until more vehicle thieves and other serious crimes they are connected with are stopped.

“Vehicle thefts are gateway crimes to other violent crimes,” said Chief Carlos Garcia, City of Brownsville Police Department and ABTPA board chairman. “When we go after car thieves, we catch other criminals through busts for money, drug and weapon seizures. A car stolen from Houston once was even used as a terrorist car bomb.”

Protecting Texas borders has become a high priority both in the Lone Star State and in the White House, but long-standing efforts from the ABTPA law enforcement teams in Brownsville, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, El Paso and Laredo, along with the other urban and rural area task forces, have demonstrated that strength in numbers, tight communications between all law enforcement groups, and equally important, increased public awareness about vehicle burglary and theft prevention are the ways to successfully curb vehicle-related crimes at the borders and beyond. Simple efforts can aid the cause as well.

“In Texas, an estimated 50 percent of the vehicles stolen had the owner’s keys in the ignition,” said Charles Caldwell, director, ABTPA. “This is a shocking statistic and should be a wake-up call to any driver. You literally hold the key to preventing the burglary or theft of your vehicle.”

ABTPA task force members agree that they can’t fight vehicle crime alone. Drivers must do their part to help prevent burglaries and thefts from happening because these crimes occur right where they live, work and play. The most common areas where vehicle criminals lurk and watch for driver carelessness are residential streets and apartment, mall, daycare, fitness center and hospital parking lots.

“Simply put, where you go, they go,” said Lt. Tommy Hansen, past president of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators and ABTPA Galveston County task force member. “When you leave your purse, laptop -- or worse, your keys -- in plain sight, you are just inviting car thieves to help themselves to your vehicle, identity and safety.”