Criminal Justice Analysis - Problem of Auto Theft in Chaos City

• NCJ Number: 81186
• Author(s): D Frisbic
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 0 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-MU-AX-0030
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Publication Format: Film
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Videotape, 15 minutes, color, 1 inch. Part of the Criminal Justice Analysis Course held at Washburn University of Topeka.

Annotation

In this videotaped classroom session, part of the Criminal Justice Analysis course, Douglas Frisbie, Executive Director of the Minnesota Crime Prevention Center, presents the results of a data analysis of the problem of auto theft in the mythical 'Chaos City.'

Abstract

The purpose of the exercise is to practice skills acquired in the course by applying these to six tasks: specifying the problem, assessing hypotheses, interpreting data, preparing a portfolio, preparing a briefing and making a presentation. Data indicate that 5,000 incidents of auto theft occur in the city each year. The risk of having a car stolen versus the risk of being victimized by other crimes indicates that auto theft is substantially less prevalent than other crimes but remains a problem because of the costs involved. The high recovery rate (91 percent of automobiles stolen are recovered) indicates that juveniles are doing the stealing. Of 200 suspects, 63 percent are juveniles; of arrests made, 92 percent are juveniles. Also, the clearance rate for this crime is low (7 percent in Chaos City versus 20 percent nationwide). Data analysis failed to support the hypothesis that owner carelessness was a major reason for auto thefts. Data show that car owners are careful since most cars were not stolen because keys were found in the ignition. However, data do support the hypothesis that cars without locking systems are stolen more frequently than those with locking systems. Thus, locking systems could have an impact on auto theft assuming that the thieves remain amateurish. Data also indicate that the magnitude of the crime varies by area of the city; two planning districts in the city had higher rates of auto theft than others. Furthermore, most cars (43 percent) were stolen from parking lots or ramps, followed by residential streets. Thus, auto prevention efforts should be targeted at parking lots and ramps in the two planning districts with the highest auto theft rate. For the instructor's guide to this course, see NCJ 81170. For other videotaped sessions see NCJ 81171-82.