New York State - Division of Criminal Justice Services

the office has been able to greatly decrease the length of time an offender is free tovictimize the community. In 2008, there were 1,838 stolen vehicles in Monroe Countywith 600 vehicles stolen from agencies outside the city of Rochester. In 2009, therewere 956 stolen vehicles in Monroe County, with 385 vehicles being stolen outside thecity of Rochester. The result is a 46% decrease in stolen vehicles from countyagencies. The one area of crime that has seen a significant increase was the theft ofdash-mounted GPS units.GPS Thefts MSCO All County Agencies2007 66 1072008 159 3882009 465 1,114The auto theft crime category that dominated in Monroe County was the theft ofproperty from both locked and unlocked motor vehicles and trailers. Many vehicles alsowere stolen when the suspect found keys hidden in the unattended vehicle. As noted,GPS device thefts are most common; other frequently targeted items include; loosechange, iPods, cameras, portable DVD players and laptop computers. Anothercategory of theft was construction/landscaping equipment stolen from work trailers andwork vehicles.During the past year, the stolen vehicle task force was successful in identifyingsuspects based on the method of theft, location of theft, time of day of theft and theitems stolen. Throughout this year’s investigations we are able to identify specifictrends based on the above criteria, which were then linked to specific suspects whohave demonstrated a preference to steal according their own unique method ofoperation. The task force utilized the above criteria to isolate persistent offenders thenformulated an investigative plan based on the suspect’s activity. During 2009, the taskforce pursued 13 major investigations, some involving targeted surveillance and somethe mass distribution of suspect information coupled with targeted marked andunmarked patrol saturation. All of those 13 major investigations have been closed, withmore than 25 suspects arrested and either convicted or awaiting trial.The suspects involved in these cases demonstrated method of operations that canbe broken into three main categories of theft:- Parking lots (day time and night time) - These suspects targeted unattendedvehicles in residential and commercial parking lots, frequently returning to aparking lot multiple times if they had success. They preferred parking lotslocated at county hiking parks, churches, health clubs and retail areas. Thesesuspects tended to be lifelong, older criminals with drug addiction or gamblingproblems who preferred to enter the vehicles by breaking car windows. Themost common item stolen by these suspect was purses, but laptops and GPSunits were also stolen if they were visible. Older suspects rarely used stolencredit cards and would throw the purses away soon after leaving the crimeNYS DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES MVTIFP BOARD / ANNUAL REPORT 2009 Page 69