Costa Mesa safe, but missing a few cars

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- The city dubbed one of the safest in the country still

has a nagging problem -- auto thefts.

According to the FBI’s 2000 Uniform Crime Report statistics released

last month, Costa Mesa was ranked the 30th safest city in the country and

eighth safest in Orange County.

The crime rate has dropped 4%, and violent crimes plummeted 16%. But

according to the report, motor vehicle thefts were up 21% in 2000

compared with the previous year.

This year, between January and May, auto thefts increased 7% compared

with the first five months of last year, said Costa Mesa Police Det. Sgt.

Jack Archer. He said 209 vehicles were stolen this year during that

period, while 194 were stolen last year.

“The trend is unexplainable,” Archer said. “The numbers vary from

month to month, and we can never pinpoint and say why they go up or

down.”

Det. Mark Manley, who works with Archer, agreed.

“Numbers are kind of like the stock market,” he said. “You can never

predict when auto thefts will rise or fall. But right now, it looks like

we’re going to do better this year.”

Archer said that despite what statistics show, the month of May saw

the lowest number of auto thefts in the last two years. There were only

30 stolen vehicles in May, an extremely low number second only to June

1999, when 28 vehicles were reported stolen, he said.

On average, about 40 cars are reported stolen each month, Manley said.

In a continuing effort to crack down on auto thefts, the Costa Mesa

Police Department has joined a countywide task force that constantly

monitors incidents in Orange County and develops enforcement strategies

to counter the problem.

The task force provides a platform for investigators from different

agencies to compare notes and voice opinions, said Manley, who is not a

member of the task force but attends its monthly meetings.

“Orange County and Costa Mesa are just snapshots of what’s happening

nationwide,” he said.

Manley said similar kinds of cars get stolen all over the country.

“We find Toyota and Honda sedans tend to be more popular than other

vehicles,” he said.

The biggest challenge in fighting car thefts is that they transcend

city, county and national borders, said Lt. Dale Birney.

“These auto theft rings are organized professionals who do it for a

profit,” he said. “Some of these rings, for example, specify a type of

car, say, a Mercedes, that they want stolen from here. Then they

transport it to another country and sell it for four to five times its

price.”

Also, the thieves manage to keep up with technology, Birney said.

“These guys often find a way to break through the auto security

systems,” he said.

The only way to fight car thieves is to increase police presence in

the city’s problem areas, Archer said.

“We look for people who act suspicious around cars,” he said. “But

we’ve found that heavy patrol in affected areas usually helps the

situation.”

Also, car thieves get more active during the summer, Manley said.

“The best way to protect yourself is to use caution,” he said. “Make

sure your windows are rolled up and your doors are locked.”

AT A GLANCE

According to police, the following vehicles are favorites with car

thieves in Costa Mesa:

1. Toyota Camry

2. Honda Accord

3. Toyota trucks

4. Tie between Ford trucks and Mercedes Benz