The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines motor vehicle theft as the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. The offense includes the stealing of automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, snowmobiles, etc. The taking of a motor vehicle for temporary use by persons having lawful access is excluded from this definition. In 2004, there were an estimated 1,237,114 motor vehicle thefts in the Nation. Two-, 5-, and 10-year trend data showed considerable volatility: the number of motor vehicles estimated to have been stolen in 2004 decreased 1.9 percent from the 2003 estimate, increased 6.6 percent from the 2000 estimate, and decreased 16.0 percent from the 1995 estimate. This volatility in trend data was also apparent in the estimations
population resided in MSAs during 2004, where approximately 93.5 percent of motor vehicle thefts occurred. For 2004, the UCR Program estimated an overall rate of 475.7 motor vehicles stolen per 100,000 MSA inhabitants. Cities outside MSAs and non-metropolitan counties, comprised 6.8 and 10.4 percent of the Nation's population, respectively. The former accounted for 3.2 percent of motor vehicle thefts and the latter 3.3 percent. The Program estimated a rate of 198.0 motor vehicles stolen for every 100,000 persons inhabiting cities outside MSAs and a rate of 132.7 motor vehicles stolen per 100,000 inhabitants of non-metropolitan
In cities collectively, 16.7 percent of all clearances of motor vehicle thefts involved only persons under 18 years of age. Within the city population groups, law enforcement agencies in cities with populations of 50,000 to 99,999 reported the highest percentage of clearances (17.5 percent) for motor vehicle thefts that involved only juveniles. The lowest percentage of clearances for motor vehicle thefts involving juveniles (15.5 percent) was reported by law enforcement in both cities with 100,000 to 249,999 in population and in the Nation's smallest cities, those with under 10,000 inhabitants. Law enforcement agencies in metropolitan counties reported that 15.2 percent of motor vehicle theft clearances within their jurisdictions involved juveniles only. Agencies in non-metropolitan counties reported that juveniles only comprised 16.2 percent of their total clearances for motor vehicle