Vehicle Thieves Rarely Take a Holiday

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Dec 08, 2011, 06:00 ET

New Year's Day Still the Busiest Holiday for Vehicle Thieves

DES PLAINES, Ill., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Once again, New Year's Day was the leading holiday for reported vehicle thefts in 2010, according to an analysis by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). Christmas Day repeats as the holiday with the fewest reported vehicle thefts.

While Americans are enjoying the holidays and most have time off from work, we need to remember that holidays are just another day at the shop for vehicle thieves. For the 11 holidays reviewed in 2010, a total of 20,995 vehicles were reported stolen compared with a total of 22,991 reported for those same days in 2009.

Although national vehicle thefts have been declining for seven consecutive years we must maintain our vigilance. There is always a black market for items obtained by theft, and vehicles remain popular theft targets.

The full report is available here.

The holidays ranked by number of thefts reported to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) in 2010 were:

New Year's Day (2,347)
Memorial Day (2,122)
Halloween (2,064)
Labor Day (2,020)
New Year's Eve (1,986)
Christmas Eve (1,928)
Independence Day (1,914)
President's Day (1,903)
Valentine's Day (1,745)
Thanksgiving (1,605)
Christmas Day (1,361)

The NICB reminds drivers to be alert during the busy holiday season. That includes parking in well-lit areas, keeping packages in the trunk or out of sight, and making sure your vehicle is locked while it's parked.

About the National Insurance Crime Bureau: headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to preventing, detecting and defeating insurance fraud and vehicle theft through data analytics, investigations, training, legislative advocacy and public awareness. The NICB is supported by more than 1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations. NICB member companies wrote over $319 billion in insurance premiums in 2010, or approximately 80 percent of the nation's property/casualty insurance. That includes more than 94 percent ($152 billion) of the nation's personal auto insurance. To learn more visit www.nicb.org.

SOURCE National Insurance Crime Bureau