Auto theft, on the rise in county, can be a nightmare

A detective stands by the remains of a stolen 1997 Acura Integra that was recovered last month by deputies with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Police say auto theft is rising in Clark County. (ZACHARY KAUFMAN/The Columbian)

If you’ve ever had your car stolen — and auto theft is rising fast in Clark County — you know it can be anything from a hassle to a nightmare.

If you have full insurance coverage and police find your car quickly, but it’s damaged, you’ll likely pay a deductible and have to get a rental car while yours is being repaired.

But the experience can be much worse, said Detective Sgt. Randy Hullinger with the Washington State Patrol, who’s part of a new interagency auto-theft task force.

-- Increasingly these days, many folks can’t afford full coverage and only have liability.

-- Your car might be missing for weeks or months, then found heavily damaged from being driven too hard, vandalized or stripped of its valuable parts such as air bags.

-- And if you left any personal information in your car before it was stolen, like your wallet or purse, there’s a good chance you could also become a victim of identity theft.

Who needs it, right?

You can make car theft more unlikely by putting layers of difficulties in thieves’ way, Hullinger said.

“Anything you can do, like The Club, an alarm system or an ignition kill switch,” he said.

Other tips: Park your car in your garage or, if outside, in a lighted area or in your driveway with another vehicle — one that’s less popular with thieves — parked behind it.

And for Pete’s sake, don’t leave it unlocked and running while it’s unattended, as many Clark County residents have done.

“If they have to work to get to your car, the better chance they’ll be looking somewhere else,” said Hullinger, who has several years’ experience working car theft.

Hullinger and his partner, Detective Tom Topaum with the Vancouver Police Department, are working full time on auto theft, thanks to a $329,000 grant from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority.

Before the one-year competitive grant came through recently, the understaffed VPD had not a single detective working full time on auto theft, said Lt. Harry Russell, who leads the investigations division.

Vancouver Police Chief Cliff Cook, in order to keep up with increasing numbers of 911 emergency calls, last summer reassigned many detectives to patrol.

Since mid-September, the new task force detectives have been working with road officers including Clark County Sheriff’s Office deputies, deputy prosecutors and a crime analyst.

And they have plenty to do.

Since 1994, car theft has increased more than 55 percent in Washington, which has the fifth-highest rate in the U.S., an official said.

Clark County residents reported 1,831 auto thefts this year through October, but arrests of car thieves are running at only about 161 per year.

“Over half the cars stolen in Clark County were stolen for joy-riding, just transportation,” Hullinger said. After a while, the thief dumps them somewhere and steals another.

And many thieves steal cars to get their valuable parts, including fancy wheels and tires, fenders and doors. Selling individual parts can bring more cash than the car was worth in the first place, Hullinger said.

There’s another danger on the flip side of car theft: If you’re not careful, you could buy a stolen car or stolen parts.

Get pulled over, or be involved in a crash, and police could learn your car is stolen, take it away and even arrest you for possessing stolen property.

That’s why Hullinger recommends getting to know someone who wants to sell you a car or parts.

If might seem odd, but you should ask to see the would-be seller’s driver’s license and the car’s registration, to see if its VIN number matches the one that must be on the car.

“If the person says no, just walk away,” Hullinger said.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.