(Update: The state's Watch Your Car website may be experiencing heavy traffic. If you have problems registering on that site, you may have to try again.)
Car theft is a multi-million-dollar industry in Utah, and it's only getting bigger-- up 17 percent the first three months of this year.
We have quite an investment parked in our driveways and garages.
Now, there's a new way to make sure it stays there.
Police have a new weapon in the fight against car theft.
News Specialist Stacey Butler explains.
Acting on a tip, state police descend on a home.
A blue truck parked
in front is stolen.
"THIS IS A BRAND NEW ONE SO THEY PROBABLY STOLE IT OFF A NEW LOT."
And so are the plates of
a new Mustang.
Police suspect those living at this address are running a chop shop, where cars are stolen and sold for their parts.
Kristy Haskins/Motor Vehicle Enforcement: "BIG MARKET--LIKE THREE TIMES THE VALUE FOR PARTS."
A car that was stolen last month in Salt Lake City was sold for parts.
It happened early in the morning, tThe time police say most cars are stolen.
Kristy Haskins/Motor Vehicle Enforcement: "IT'S BEEN PROVEN THAT A LOT OF CARS ARE STOLEN BETWEEN 1 A.M. AND 5 A.M., AND I THINK WITH THIS PROGRAM YOUR CAR WILL BE PICKED UP BEFORE YOU EVEN KNOW IT'S GONE."
The program she's talking about is called "Watch Your Car."
Paid for by a grant from the Department of Justice, it allows law enforcement
to keep a close eye on your car during the wee hours of the morning.
It's the kind of help police say they need.
"IT APPEARS AT THIS TIME THAT WE'RE NOT RECOVERING AS MANY VEHICLES AS WE HAVE IN THE PAST."
Stacey Butler/Eyewitness News" "HERE'S HOW IT WORKS. REGISTER THE MAKE OF YOUR CAR AND WHO'S ALLOWED TO DRIVE IT ONLINE OR BY PHONE, THEN PLACE THESE STICKERS IN YOUR WINDOW.
THAT WAY IF POLICE ANYWHERE ACROSS THE COUNTRY SEE YOUR CAR BEING DRIVEN BETWEEN ONE AND FIVE A.M., THEY MAY STOP IT AND MAKE SURE A THIEF ISN'T BEHIND THE WHEEL.
In the last six years Utahns have lost more than $100-million to auto theft.
Law enforcers hope this new program will put a substantial dent in those numbers.
--July 26, 2001--
