LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – An undeterred crime wave and an increase in used car prices have resulted in nearly half-a-million vehicles being stolen in the first half of 2022 according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), an insurance industry association dedicated to predicting, preventing and prosecuting insurance crime.

New analysis shows that the trends of vehicle thefts will be continuing through 2022. The thefts equate to an estimated $4.5 billion worth of vehicle losses or a 25% increase over the vehicle theft total reported for the first half of 2019.

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David Glawe, President and CEO of the National Insurance Crime Bureau says, “There is very little deterrent to stopping these criminals because vehicle thefts are property crimes. Since the start of the pandemic, used car prices have increased 35 to 40 percent. Criminals are exploiting these high prices as vehicle and catalytic converter thefts are crimes of opportunity. And crime is a business, and business is good.”

According to NICB, the United States is seeing the highest vehicle theft numbers since 2018 and there are no signs for a downward trend anytime soon. That’s bad news for Denver, Colorado who has seen a 155% increase in vehicle thefts or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who has had a 106% increase.

Catalytic converter thefts in the country have also increased a whopping 1,215% nationwide since 2019 and carjackings have increased 160% to over 500% in some major cities since 2019.

Glawe says, “To stop this lawlessness, we must focus our attention on these criminals and take back our streets. We must re-invest in law enforcement.”

In Michigan, 10,741 vehicles were stolen in 2022 as of June 30, 2022. Luckily, Michigan isn’t listed as a a top ten hot spot for vehicle theft rates. Those states are Colorado, Washington, D.C., California, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas.

NICB reports that for the second year in a row, the Chevrolet and Ford full size Pick-ups are at the top of the annual Hot Wheels vehicle theft report as the most stolen vehicles in 2021. The rest of the top ten include: Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, GMC Pick-Up (full size), Nissan Altima, Honda CR-V, Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee and the Toyota Corolla.