New Year's Day remains favorite holiday for car thieves

Police and insurance officials are warning drivers to be sure that while they're having fun ringing in the New Year, they're not making it easy for a car thief to start 2011 on a productive note.

Officials from the Des Plaines-based National Insurance Crime Bureau said Tuesday that New Year's Day has been car thieves' favorite holiday.

According to National Crime Information Center figures, 2,760 cars were reported stolen on New Year's Day in 2009 and 2,189 were taken on New Year's Eve.

Halloween came in second with 2,325 reported car thefts, while 2,207 were reported stolen on Independence Day.

“There really isn't any hard analysis as to why,” said National Insurance Crime Bureau spokesman Frank Scafidi. “But generally speaking, auto thefts are about location and opportunity.”

And those opportunities might arise, Scafidi said, when drivers leave their cars out late — or even all night — on dark streets or other locations easily accessible to thieves on New Year's Eve.

“It could simply be a result of people going out, staying out late and having a good time,” he said. “Maybe some get intoxicated and do the right thing by taking a cab home, but then they leave their car overnight at a place where it normally wouldn't be.”

Car thieves at least showed some holiday cheer last year, making Christmas Day the holiday with the fewest reported vehicle thefts with only 1,336 reported, the figures show. The daily average for car thefts was about 2,276 in 2009, according to the National Crime Information Center.

Lt. Christopher Thompson of the Lake County sheriff's office recommended people seek alternative transportation when heading out on New Year's Eve as one way to protect against vehicle theft.

Those who must drive, he said, should park in highly visible areas.

“Also, always enable car alarms, if the vehicle has one, and make sure the doors are locked at all times,” he said. “And, people should not leave any valuables in the car in plain sight to help deter a would-be break-in.”

Scafidi suggested drivers park in private driveways or lighted areas when possible.

“Use a little common sense and try to make it harder for someone to steal your car,” he said.

For the 11 holidays reviewed in 2009, a total of 22,991 vehicles were reported stolen, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau report. That's down from the 24,676 thefts reported for those same holidays in 2008.

It's the sixth consecutive year vehicle thefts have declined on the 11 holidays, crime bureau officials reported.

The number of car thefts overall is expected to fall for the seventh consecutive year in 2010, Scafidi said. A total of 967,370 vehicle thefts were reported in 2008, compared to 830,620 last year.

“The good news is that the numbers are continuing to decline,” Scafidi said. “I think it's just a combination of all the good work being done by law enforcement and the insurance companies, as well as people being more aware of how to prevent it.”

Car: Vehicle thefts on holidays are in decline