Abstract

Vehicle theft has evolved from people simply stealing from another for their own personal use to a highly complex criminal endeavor. Generally, there is a clear distinction between property crime and violent crime. Vehicle theft is obviously a property crime, but it is more appropriate to recognize it as an economic crime and acknowledge that it becomes a hybrid crime when violence is used, such as in the case of carjacking. This chapter illustrates the level of difficulty in performing a cross-country comparison of crime statistics for the stolen vehicles. Each country records crime in a different manner, which is sometimes not compatible. Experience indicates that vehicles stolen by opportunist criminals, such as for temporary use to facilitate other crimes or by juveniles, are generally recovered within 24 to 48 hours. Some vehicles are stolen and smuggled to other countries. With the global economy, communication networks, and transportation capabilities, vehicle theft is no longer merely a local crime problem. This chapter exemplifies the pervasiveness of this crime, and discovers the nexus between organized crime, vehicle theft, and fraud.

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