Motor Vehicle Theft Chapter 17

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 THE NATURE OF MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT Thefts from motor vehicles are included under larceny- theft in the official crime data of the FBI. Motor vehicle theft The theft or attempted theft of any type of motorized vehicle. A separate category of serious property crime and is itself one of the eight index offenses.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 THE NATURE OF MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT Thefts of automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, construction and farm machinery, aircraft, and recreational vehicles such as boats and snowmobiles. Figure 17.3 – Lists of the top twenty-five kinds of vehicle stolen during 2005.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 TYPES OF MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT Motor vehicle thefts are generally classified by the thief ’s motive for stealing a vehicle. Joyriding – The temporary taking of a motor vehicle without the intent of permanently depriving the owner of the vehicle. – Generally undertaken by juveniles. – According to the UCR, nationwide juveniles were responsible for 16.4 percent of all cleared motor vehicle thefts in 2004

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 TYPES OF MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT Transportation – Hitchhikers, transients, and runaways steal cars for transportation. – The objective of a theft for transportation is usually a specific ride from one point to another, not aimlessly driving around for the fun of it. – Offenders who steal cars for transportation are generally older than joyriders. – A vehicle stolen for transportation is usually kept longer and driven farther before being abandoned than a car taken for a joyride.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 TYPES OF MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT To Commit Another Crime – Use as transportation when committing another crime. – Kidnapping, burglary, assassination, and murder for hire Fraud – Perpetrated by the owner of the vehicle or someone acting on behalf of the owner.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 Fraud Salvage switch – Switching vehicle identification number plates from wrecked vehicles to stolen cars of the same make and model. Airbag fraud Odometer rollbacks VIN cloning or salvage switching Curbstoning

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8 Stripping, Chopping, and Resale Stripping – Illegally removing parts and accessories from motor vehicles to use or sell them. – These items generally do not have any identifying numbers and are attractive to thieves. – Tires, wheel covers, transmissions, motors, wheels, airbags, radios, CB radios, CD players, and even car telephones

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 Stripping, Chopping, and Resale Chopping – The dismantling of stolen motor vehicles into parts and accessories for use or sale. Chop shop – A place for chopping, or dismantling, stolen motor vehicles into parts and accessories that cannot be easily identified, which are then resold.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 10 Stripping, Chopping, and Resale Resale Rather than steal a vehicle for stripping or chopping, some professional thieves steal cars to resell them. Few vehicles stolen by professional resale thieves are ever recovered. A stolen American vehicle often nets double its original price overseas. There, the theft is often erroneously seen as a victimless crime because American cars are usually covered by insurance.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 Legal Aspects of the Crime of Motor Vehicle Theft Motor vehicle theft is a form of larceny because it is the taking and driving away of a motor vehicle from the owner or possessor with the intent of permanently depriving him or her of it. State Statutes vary on definition Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12 INVESTIGATING MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT It is the investigating officer’s job to verify all the information obtained about the theft. The investigating officer must also verify that a theft has taken place. The responding officer should give the dispatcher the following information about the stolen vehicle: – Make and model of the vehicle – Year of the vehicle – Color or colors of the vehicle – Name, address, and telephone number of the owner

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 13 INVESTIGATING MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT – License plate number and state that issued it – Vehicle identification number (VIN) – Location and time of the theft – Any distinctive characteristics, special equipment, or damage When investigating stolen vehicles, it is important to remember that the market for stolen cars changes to meet demand. It is not always the most expensive or best looking cars that are stolen.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 Identifying a Stolen Vehicle Vehicle identification number (VIN) – A nonduplicated, serialized number assigned by a motor vehicle manufacturer (of autos especially) to each vehicle made. In 1968 VIN plates on all domestic vehicles and most imports began to be uniformly placed on the left side (driver’s side) of the dashboard. In 1981 the auto industry adopted a standardized seventeen-character VIN for all automobiles manufactured or sold in the United States.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 15 Identifying a Stolen Vehicle Contemporary VIN characters (Identifiers) 1 Country in which the vehicle was manufactured 2 Manufacturer 3 Vehicle type or manufacturing division 4 –8 Vehicle features such as body style, engine type, model, and series 9 VIN accuracy as check digit 10 Model year 11 Assembly plant for the vehicle 12–17 Sequence of the vehicle for production as it rolled off the manufacturer’s assembly line

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 16 Recognizing a Stolen Vehicle New license on an old vehicle or an old license on a new one Missing plates from either the front or the rear of the vehicle Mismatched plates (in jurisdictions where front and rear plates are required) Commercial plates on a passenger car or noncommercial plates on a truck Misaligned numerals or letters on the license plate Broken or missing glass in windows Damage to doors or trunks near locks Punched-out locks

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 17 Recognizing a Stolen Vehicle Vehicles operated without lights at night Vehicles standing at the side of the road with missing parts Vehicles standing at the side of a road with doors left open Vehicles with what appear to be bullet holes in the glass or body Vehicles parked with the engines left running Vehicles abandoned on streets or in parking lots for several days

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 18 Recognizing a Stolen Vehicle Thieves gain entry to and start vehicles using a number of different methods. Unlocked car, keys dangling from an ignition, or a spare key in a magnetic box attached to the inside of a wheel well. Slim jim – A tool consisting of a sturdy length of metal used by auto and truck thieves to unlock doors.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 19 Examining Stolen Vehicles for Evidence Search the area immediately surrounding the vehicle for possible physical evidence or other identifying information that may lead to the thief. Property left in the abandoned vehicle.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 20 Searching a Stolen Vehicle Latent fingerprints Trace evidence that might suggest the identity or whereabouts of a suspect.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 21 Disposing of Recovered Vehicles Impound – To take into legal custody. Inventory of the car’s contents. An impounded vehicle cannot be released without an official impound release form indicating that it is no longer required as evidence.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 22 INVESTIGATING OTHER MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Manufacturers and sellers can provide useful information regarding the location of identifying numbers and possible outlets for stolen parts. Motorcycles – More than seventy different brands of motorcycles – Many of these manufacturers have used different numbering systems and locations for identifying the vehicle.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 23 INVESTIGATING OTHER MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Today motorcycle VINs are usually die-stamped into the frame of the motorcycle, although the location may vary among manufacturers. The VIN can also be found, on most models, on the left and right sides of the headstock, or engine cradle. Most manufacturers also die-stamp a serial number on the engine case itself.

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 24 PREVENTING MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT Generally, the theft of a vehicle requires two things: – A desire on the part of a thief – An opportunity

Copyright ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 25 PREVENTING MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT Lock Auto Antitheft device Decal alert programs