Vehicle security technology and communication with law enforcement have been standing between thieves and their targets, with last year’s vehicle theft rate at its lowest since 1960, a National Insurance Crime Bureau report said.
In 2013, 221 registered vehicles per 100,000 registrations were stolen, the bureau said. In 1960, that number was 443. The crime reached its peak in 1991, when thieves got away with 863 vehicles out of every 100,000 registrations, a NICB statement said last week.
Vehicle theft fell each year from 2003 to 2011, but in 2012, it increased slightly before dropping again in 2013.
In addition to law enforcement, vehicle security and technology has played a role in decreased theft.
Technology has a positive effect on the vehicle “whether it’s deployed in the auto manufacturing process as new and more reliable anti-theft protection is engineered into design, or obtained as an after-market option by vehicle owners looking for an additional level of security,” the statement said. “Put simply, cars are just more difficult to steal today than ever before and technology has made that possible.”
GM's 'layered' approach
General Motors, for example, takes a “layered” approach to security, said Bill Biondo, technical fellow of global vehicle security and advanced technologies.
Limited visibility from tinted windows and cargo covers discourage thieves from entering the vehicle.
But Biondo says the most significant deterrent is transponder immobilizers. With the transponder electric keys, the vehicle system must detect a transponder value from the chip in the key in order to start the engine.
“The vehicle knows the key, and the key is married to that vehicle,” Biondo said.
Ford's fobs
Ford’s In-Vehicle Security Technical Manager Mike Westra said Ford’s key fobs are more complicated for thieves as well.
Ford vehicles “make sure there’s a key present in the cabin,” before the engine can start, Westra said.
OnStar creates another theft barrier, Biondo said.
The program can locate, slow down and deter stolen vehicles from being restarted.
“OnStar has services to deter theft and help recover theft, and thieves know that,” he said.
But the decline in vehicle theft stems from a joint effort.
As part of his job, Biondo networks with police and insurance companies. He even assists investigations and develops new security features based on activity in the field.
They “keep me in the loop on what they are seeing in the field,” he said. “We consider law enforcement our partners in this.”
Ford works with its European counterparts to fight vehicle theft, Westra said. Since theft tends to be higher in Europe, Ford “actively evaluates each vehicle in its final stages,” in Europe, determining how close the wiring is to external surfaces and how difficult it would be to bypass vehicles’ locking mechanisms.
The continued effort to make technological security systems more intelligent is “a bit of a cat-and-mouse game” as criminal groups learn to outsmart the connected-car security systems, Westra said.
But at least for now, he said, advanced vehicle security makes it much more difficult for thieves to get away.
