New York State - Division of Criminal Justice Services

offering hands-on demonstrations relating to issues in auto theft and insurance fraudprosecutions. Over the years, unit personnel have trained more than 550 officers fromover 27 police departments. Additionally, unit personnel have been frequent lecturers atNew York Prosecutors Training Institute (NYPTI) and International Association of AutoTheft Investigators (IAATI) training seminars.Finally, the Auto Crimes Unit has served the local community by conducting the“Watch your Car” program. Every year, members of the unit conduct free VIN-etching forcitizens of the county. This program is coordinated with local police agencies and since itsimplementation, the unit has VIN-etched more than 1,000 vehicles.Westchester County Office of the District AttorneyPerformance Measure Total Performance Measure TotalMVT investigations 16 MVIF investigations 9MVT felony arrests prosecuted 117 MVIF felony arrests prosecuted 6MVT felony convictions 19 MVIF felony convictions 2MVT misdemeanor arrests prosecuted 12 MVIF misdemeanor arrests prosecuted 0MVT misdemeanor convictions 42 MVIF misdemeanor convictions 1MVT search warrants issued 1 MVIF search warrants issued 0MVT SAFETNet referrals 0 MVIF SAFETNet referrals 3Yonkers Police DepartmentThe Yonkers Police Department’s (YPD) Auto Crime Unit works out of itsIntelligence Unit. At the present time, a detective spends 100% of his time in the AutoCrime Unit, assisted by a detective and supervised by a sergeant and captain.Due in part to the efforts of theYonkers Police Department Auto CrimeUnit, the number of auto thefts inYonkers decreased more than 2%, from351 in 2008 to 343 in 2009. Since 1991,when there were a reported 2,502 stolenautos in the City of Yonkers there hasbeen a decrease of more than 86%.During 2009, the Yonkers PoliceDepartment Auto Crime Unit began 43auto theft and auto-related fraudinvestigations and continued severalothers from the previous year.3,0002,5002,0001,5001,00050001990199219941996Stolen Auto199820002002200420062008Current trends in auto theft include the theft of motorcycles, stolen cars beingshipped through the Dominican Republic to other foreign countries, and the theft ofconstruction vehicles. Whole vehicles tend to disappear from the street and are resoldintact. Many are lifted off the road right into the backs of tow trucks.NYS DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MVTIFP BOARD / ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Page 52