San Diego auto insurance

Police target vehicle thieves along border

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“No one wants to live in a city where every time you park your car, you wonder if it will be there when you get back,” Mayor Jerry Sanders said at a news conference.

Part of the decline can be attributed to the general drop in crime nationwide over the past few years, Sanders said. Statistics show that auto theft has continued to decline citywide, although the neighborhoods in the southern division, including Otay Mesa and San Ysidro, have made some of the greatest strides.

It was in May 2008 — after auto thefts in the division that fiscal year had reached about 2,500 — when the Police Department formed a special unit to focus on battling the crime. Made up of a detective and a sergeant, the duo researched the cause of auto thefts and the types of cars being stolen.

They learned that the No. 1 reason for stealing cars was for the parts, said southern division Capt. Miguel Rosario. They found thieves were also using the swiped vehicles in cross-border smuggling operations, were selling them locally and abroad, and using them as free transportation while committing other crimes.

Source: SignOnSanDiego.com