1998–2000 Ohio Motor Vehicle Thefts by Selected Cities

In 2000, the estimated direct loss in Ohio attributed to cars that were stolen and never recovered exceeded $98.5 million.

Determining economic losses

According to FBI Uniform Crime Reports, an estimated 62.2% of the autos stolen in 2000 were recovered. Based on this stolen recovery rate, 37.8% of vehicles stolen are not recovered. The FBI also estimates that the unrecovered stolen autos had an average value of $6,682. Thus, to obtain the “Direct Loss of Unrecovered Vehicles” estimates, 37.8% of the number of motor vehicle thefts for a given city was multiplied by the average dollar amount ($6,682) to obtain the estimate.

These computations do not take into consideration the following costs:

• Damage to stolen recovered vehicles
• Law enforcement
• Court administration
• Injuries
• Damage to other property

Click here for "1998–2000 Ohio Motor Vehicle Thefts by Selected Cities."

The National Insurance Crime Bureau estimates the total value of the cars stolen each year in the US is between $7–10 billion. (The NY Times, 2/25/01)