NICB Ranks Top 10 Cities for Auto Theft

Following an eight-year downturn, U.S. auto theft is on the rise. According to the latest Hot Spots report, the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s (NICB) annual per-capita review of the nation’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), vehicle theft swelled 1.3 percent in 2012, when compared to 715,373 incidents in 2011.

Based on preliminary 2012 data supplied by the FBI, the NICB found the most dramatic uptick to be concentrated in the U.S. west (defined by the FBI as Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming). Further solidifying its reputation as a hotbed for auto theft, the west saw a 10.6-percent increase in 13 states last year.