Claims News Service, May 9, 10:28 a.m. EDT — The National Insurance Crime Bureau recently published “Hot Spots,” its annual report on auto theft rates. With six cities in California ranking in the top 10, statistics illustrated that the farther West one goes, the higher the theft rates are.

The report indicates that 2005 was the second consecutive year of decreases nationally in vehicle theft. According to the NICB, preliminary FBI data showed a 2.1 percent decrease in motor vehicle thefts during January-June 2005, when compared with the same period in 2004.

NICB reviewed data from the National Crime Information Center for each of the nation's 360 metropolitan statistical areas. The rate was determined by the number of vehicle theft offenses per 100,000 inhabitants using the 2004 U.S. Census Population Estimates, the most current figures available.