10 cities where drivers need to beware of Halloween auto theft

The holidays bring out the best and the worst in people, and Halloween is no exception.

Consider that during 2016, there were more vehicles stolen on Halloween than on any other holiday, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and the Insurance Information Institute. That year, the most vehicle thefts for a single day happened on August 1st, with 2,840 stolen cars, trucks, motorcycles and the like. By comparison, 2,578 vehicles were stolen on Halloween, according to the NICB.

Thanksgiving was the least popular holiday in 2016 for stealing vehicles with 1,777 going missing that day.

Statistics indicate that vehicles thefts nationwide are trending downward. But the story is much different on a local level, where some American cities continue to battle rampant auto theft, and where the average dollar loss per theft is approaching $8,000.

Individual claims, of course, can be much higher. Consider one media personality whose business vehicle was recently burgled in Oakland, Calif. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the perpetrators got away with roughly $20,000 worth of electronics equipment.

Based on that news item, it follows that in 2017, five of the country’s top 10 cities for auto theft were located in California.

Another unfortunate truth: With Halloween often comes an uptick in criminal mischief that includes property damage and auto theft.

Above are the top 10 cities for vehicle theft, based on 2017 statistics compiled by NICB and III. Vehicle theft rates reported here are per 100,000 people based on the 2017 U.S. Census Population Estimates.

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