Traveling this summer? Florida cities with most stolen cars

Traveling this summer to any of these popular cities in Florida? Protect your car!

A report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) show that nationally car thefts are down steeply from their peak in the 1990's. The historic peak year for vehicle theft was 1991, with 1,661,738 reported thefts. In 2017, the total was 773,139. That is a 53 percent reduction since 1991.

The report from NICB shows that car thefts in the Tampa metro (Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater) area have a slight decrease over last year. However, it is #3 in Florida with most stolen cars.

The Tampa area saw 5,429 car thefts in 2018 compared to 5,867 thefts in 2017 and 6,114 in 2016. Nationally, the metro area ranked 213 out of 383 metro areas for the most thefts.

The population-based survey shows 22 Florida metro areas made the report. The area with the least numbers of car thefts in Florida was the Sebastian – Vero Beach area with 149 thefts and ranked 306 in the nation.

The top three metro areas in Florida with the most car thefts:

• Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach – 20,045
• Orlando, Kissimmee, Sanford – 6,168
• Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater – 5,429

The Los Angeles, California metro area led the country in car thefts, with 53,928. Albuquerque, New Mexico led the nation again for 2 years in a row in vehicle theft rate, with the highest per capita theft rate 780.19 per 100,000 residents and 7,146 car thefts**. The area with the least car thefts in the nation was again in Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii with ZERO thefts!

State Farm Insurance recommends the following tips to help prevent car theft:

Roll up your windows all the way. If a locksmith only needs a sliver of open window to open your door, so does a thief.
Don’t keep a spare key in or on the car – the bad guys know all the hiding places.
Don’t be the “low-hanging fruit” – if a thief sees an alarm has been installed or the VIN is etched into a window or door, they know the car will be harder to steal and more of a hassle to sell.
Consider a vehicle recovery system. If your car is stolen, it can be tracked and recovered using GPS or similar technology.
Hide valuables. Keep your personal belongings out of sight, preferably in the trunk.
Park in populated areas. You'll be safer getting in and out, and thieves are less likely to disturb cars parked on busy, well-lit streets.

Note: ** As a population-based survey, an area with a much smaller population and a moderate number of thefts can—and often does—have a higher theft rate than an area with a much more significant vehicle theft problem and a larger population to absorb it. Which is how St. Joseph, with 674 thefts, places 10th while Los Angeles, with 53,928 thefts, places 38th.