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New Study Reveals ``Hot Spots'' for Auto Theft; This is One Top Twenty List Where Climbing the Charts is Bad News

    LOS ANGELES--June 10, 2003--Nine of the National Insurance Crime Bureau's top 20 hot spots for nationwide auto theft are located in California, and of those, eight moved up the list from one year ago, according to a study released today.
    Cracking the top five in 2002 were Fresno (2), Modesto (3) and Stockton-Lodi (4). Other California cities among the top 20 nationwide were Sacramento (7), Oakland (8), San Diego (12), Riverside-San Bernardino (15), Visalia-Tulare-Porterville (16) and Los Angeles-Long Beach (19). All but Sacramento, previously ranked fifth, moved up from their previous ranking in the NICB's 2001 survey of regional auto theft trends.
    The NICB study breaks down regions as MSAs, or Metropolitan Statistical Areas, established by the Census Bureau and then rates the number of vehicle thefts per 100,000 population.
    "California regions are topping the charts for auto theft," said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California. "Whether you live in a city or the suburbs, it pays to protect your car from would-be thieves."
    In addition to such common sense measures as locking your car and parking in well-lit lots, IINC recommends adding layers of security to deter thieves, including installation of alarms, steering wheel locks, cut-off switches or fuel disablers and tracking devices. Some of this equipment may even help to secure a lower auto insurance premium.
    IINC is a nonprofit, non-lobbying communications association representing the property/casualty industry. For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact media relations at 800/397-1679 or visit our Web site at www.iinc.org.