Police will be targeting car thieves

For the past few years, Yakima has ranked as one of the top places in the nation for car thefts. But through a new $440,000 grant, local law enforcement agencies hope to break that trend.

"This money allows law enforcement to scrape the crud off the street," said Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin, referring to car thieves.

The money was awarded by the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority, which is funded by a $10 assessment on traffic citations. The money will be shared among the sheriff's office and the Yakima, Sunnyside and Toppenish police departments.

With these funds, and more anticipated in the years to come, the agencies will fund an analyst, at least one auto theft detective, a prosecutor, jail costs, overtime and technology -- all to prevent, apprehend and prosecute car thieves.

The funds are derived from $4.4 million in financial assistance grants to law enforcement and prosecution agencies across the state.

According to insurance industry reports, Yakima landed on the Top 10 list, per capita, for the first time in 2005, then edged up to No. 9 in 2006 and 2007.

But the actual number of thefts has declined by slightly more than 300 in the past three years -- from 2,212 vehicles stolen in 2005 to 1,898 in 2007. The statistical area measured by the National Insurance Crime Bureau includes all of Yakima County.

With the grant, Yakima Police Chief Sam Granato said police departments can work collaboratively to attack the problem. He's especially eager to hire a crime analyst to help track where the crimes occur and predict where the thieves are heading.

"These kinds of partnerships can't do anything but win," he said.

A similar partnership between agencies in Seattle and King County contributed to a decrease in King County's stolen vehicles by nearly 55 percent over the past three years, according to the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority.

The prevention authority will continue to award money annually, Irwin said, adding that the $440,000 shared between the four local agencies may double in the years to come.

Of this year's pot, the sheriff's office will receive $151,847, while Yakima, Sunnyside and Toppenish will receive $146,666, $116,365 and $24,526, respectively.

The county, Yakima and Sunnyside offices are each spending $30,000 of their grant awards to buy an automatic license plate reader. The device reads as many as 1,000 plates per hour to track stolen cars.

* Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 577-7684 or esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com.

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