While most Americans take time off from work during the holidays, vehicle thieves are pounding the pavement without so much as a lunch break.

According to analysis from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), New Year's Day, once again, ranked as the leading holiday for reported vehicle thefts in 2010. Christmas Day repeats as the holiday with the fewest reported vehicle thefts. For the 11 holidays reviewed in 2010, a total of 20,995 vehicles were reported stolen compared with a total of 22,991 reported for those same days in 2009.

The Des Plaines, Ill.-based not-for-profit organization's annual reports show a decline in vehicle thefts for seven consecutive years. There is, however, always a black market for items obtained by theft, and vehicles remain popular theft targets.

The top five holiday theft states are California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, and Georgia. California had the highest overall number of holiday vehicle thefts. The majority occurred on President's Day with 507 thefts. Following the national trend, Texas, Florida, Illinois and Georgia had the highest number of thefts on New Year's Day and all top five states had the lowest on Christmas Day.

The full report, “2010 National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Holiday Vehicle Theft Analysis,” can be accessed here.

Source: www.nicb.org

Special Reports /

Vehicle Theft Knows No Holiday

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