The Turlock Police Department is currently working on analyzing, tracking and preventing auto theft in the Turlock community. Statistics for the 2010 3rd quarter were calculated from June 1st through September 30th. During that time frame Turlock Police took 99 auto theft reports. The top 4 most common stolen vehicles last quarter were all Honda’s. This included models from 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996.
This year has shown increases in auto thefts, just after a year when Turlock Police had reported a decrease.
In February 2009, TurlockCityNews.com had reported that the Turlock Police were encouraged to see the auto theft rate had dropped by 11% in the City of Turlock, as the central valley of California is known for its high rate of auto theft.
Stanislaus County continues to be one of the highest ranking areas for auto thefts per capita in the country. The Modesto metropolitan area (Stanislaus County) was ranked number one but was replaced by Laredo, Texas and Modesto dropped down to number two according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
An auto theft occurs every 26 seconds in the United States. Nearly 1.4 million vehicles are stolen each year. Often times the police department responds to reports of vehicle thefts that could have easily been prevented. Making the effort to prevent these types of crimes is every citizen’s responsibility. Citizens should take the extra time to protect their property by following a few simple rules.
Never leave your car running and unattended. As winter approaches people are more likely to start their car and leave it running to defrost the windows and warm the engine. This is the quickest and easiest way for a criminal to steal your vehicle; they don’t even have to work for it. As much of an inconvenience as it may be to have to spend an extra 5 minutes waiting for your car to warm up, it’s an even bigger inconvenience to be without a vehicle.
If you have a steering wheel lock device or an alarm, use it. Leaving a vehicle unlocked or unprotected even for a short time can result in auto theft or burglary. Any additional security added to your vehicle decreases your chances of being victimized. Criminals are more likely to hit easy targets versus a car with a security device that would require additional time to steal and could draw more attention.
Starting November 8th, the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Taskforce (“StanCATT”) will be providing “The Clubs” free to the public, a limit of two per household.
A limited number of “The Clubs” have been provided and will be given out to car owners who provide a copy of current vehicle registration for the following vehicles only:
Honda Accord, 1989-1997
Honda Civic, 1988-2000
Toyota Camry, 1987-1991
Acura Integra, 1990-1998
Toyota Pickup, 1984-1988
Saturn SL, 1993-1995
Nissan Sentra, 1992-1994
Chevrolet Silverado, 1996-2007
Cadillac Escalade, 2002-2004
“The Clubs” can be picked up at the Turlock Police Department from 11am-4pm Monday through Thursday. The Turlock Police Department is located at 900 N. Palm St.
If you have any questions about preventing auto theft please contact Turlock Police Department’s Crime Prevention Officer Weatherford at (209) 656-3153 or StanCATT at (209) 545-7316.
The Turlock Police Department is an active participant in the Crime Stoppers Program. Callers can leave an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at (209) 521-4636 and may be eligible for a cash reward.
