New York State - Division of Criminal Justice Services

complainant; this is now happening more frequently. Low-level arrests also are beingclosely monitored, and arresting officers are utilizing more charges such asunauthorized use of a motor vehicle and auto stripping, before the case is in anegotiation phase.Strategies also will include periodic checks of salvage/scrap yards to identifyreoccurring names of car owners scrapping cars. The types and VINs of cars willcontinue to be checked against stolen property police reports. The checking ofsalvage/scrap yards will become more common as the warmer weather arrives andpersons are more likely to haul vehicles etc. to a scrap yard for money. Also the price ofscrap metal has been on the rise going into the spring time months, which willencourage more people to scrap cars for more profit.Niagara County Office of the District AttorneyPerformance Measure Total Performance Measure TotalInvestigations initiated 135 MVT misdemeanor convictions 46Investigations filed with SAFETNet 0 MVT felony convictions 4Hits resulting from SAFETNet 0 Warrant issued 6MVT-related misdemeanor prosecutions 95 MVIF investigations initiated 32MVT-related felony prosecutions 67 MVIF-related misdemeanor arrests 7Confidential informants developed 7 MVIF-related felony arrests 1Indictments 3 Confidential informants developed 1Niagara County Office of the SheriffIn 2009, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Stolen Vehicle Task Force continuedto combat vehicle theft, vehicle parts theft, and insurance fraud through full utilization ofthe Motor Vehicle Theft and Insurance Fraud grant. The task force is comprised ofdeputies, investigators, and supervisors who have participated in many trainingopportunities in order to increase their knowledge of vehicle theft. The task force meetson a regular basis formally and constantly is in contact with each member forinformation sharing purposes.In 2009, 189 stolen vehicle reports were made to the office and towns andvillages under our jurisdiction, an increase over the 141 reported in 2008. The officealso recovered 113 reported stolen vehicles, more than double the 52 we recovered in2008. The estimated value of these recovered vehicles is $320,506. It appears older,and lesser valued vehicles are being reported stolen as the value from 2008 decreasedby $105,000. Newer vehicles are more difficult to steal due to enhanced security locks,ignition entry and GPS and the older vehicles may have more value for their parts thanas a whole.The Sheriff’s Office opened 10 insurance fraud cases this year, taking a harderlook at some reported stolen vehicle claims that seemed suspicious. This more thandoubled the 2008 numbers. Between the theft and insurance fraud investigations, theoffice made 38 misdemeanor arrests and eight felony arrests. We developed sevenconfidential informants and made two SAFETNet entries.NYS DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MVTIFP BOARD / ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Page 62