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Encyclopedia > Motor vehicle theft

Motor vehicle theft is a crime of theft. This is generally understood to refer to the stealing of automobiles, buses, motorcycles, snowmobiles, trucks, trailers or any other motorized vehicle legally allowed on public roads and highways, including attempted thefts; but not to aircraft, boats, motorized wheelchairs, bulldozers, and spacecraft. Image File history File links Nuvola_apps_browser. ... Everyday instance of theft: the bike which fits on this wheel has disappeared. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... An early motorized bus - a Benz truck modified by Netphener company (1895) A bus is a large automobile intended to carry numerous persons in addition to the driver and sometimes a conductor. ... A 125 cc motorcycle, the Italian-manufactured Cagiva Planet. ... A snowmobile tour at Yellowstone National Park, note the snowdust in the air (NPS Photo) A 1997 Arctic Cat ZR 580 Snowmobile A snowmobile (or snow scooter, often referred to by enthusiasts as a sled and in the Canadian north and Alaska as a snowmachine) is a land vehicle propelled... The driver of this DAF tractor with an auto-transport semi-trailer prepares to offload Å koda Octavia cars in Cardiff, Wales For other meanings, see Truck (disambiguation). ... A custom made camper trailer A boat on a trailer A Trailer is an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. ... Airbus A380 An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... Some pleasure craft boats in a harbor in Miami Beach, Florida. ... Wheelchair seating A wheelchair is a device used for mobility by people for whom walking is difficult or impossible, due to illness or disability. ... A Caterpillar D10N bulldozer at work A bulldozer is a very powerful crawler (caterpillar tracked tractor) equipped with a blade. ... A spacecraft is designed to leave Earths atmosphere and operate beyond the surface of the Earth in outer space. ...

Contents


Motor vehicle theft in the US

The crime is commonly charged under the name grand theft, auto in the U.S., however, other places refer to it as simply "felony theft" or "theft over", i.e., theft over a dollar amount that exceeds misdemeanor proportions. In any case, as with other thefts, the prosecutor must usually prove that the alleged thief intended to deprive the owner of his or her property permanently. Taking a motor vehicle without consent and then abandoning it (or intending to abandon it) is known as joyriding. This article is about the country in North America. ... A misdemeanors (or misdemeanour), in many common law legal systems, is a lesser criminal act. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... To joyride is to drive around in a car with no particular goal, a ride taken solely for pleasure. ...


In almost all jurisdictions, theft of a motor vehicle is punishable as a felony due to the extreme emotional and economic distress it causes to the victim and to society. A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime, whereas misdemeanors are considered to be less serious offenses. ...


Colloquially, stealing a motor vehicle while it is occupied is known as carjacking, and in many legal systems is treated as a form of robbery. Another term used for car theft is boosting. Theft of a vehicle while the driver is warming it up and de-icing it may be called frosting. Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... A Carjacking scene from the film Reservoir Dogs. ... Frosting is a rising form of vehicle theft, specifically occurring in winter, which involves an opportunist thief stealing a vehicle with its engine running whilst the owner de-ices it. ...


To prevent vehicle theft, some statutes require drivers to stop the engine, remove the ignition key, and lock an unattended vehicle left on a public way. Failure to do so may expose the victim to a fine for a traffic code violation. Traffic code (also motor vehicle code) refers to the collection of local statutes, regulations, ordinances and rules that have been officially adopted to govern the orderly operation and interaction of motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and others upon the public (and sometimes private) ways. ...


This crime, though common throughout the 20th century, has been in decline in most jurisdictions over the last decade. One big exception is the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, which has seen the number of motor-vehicle thefts increase dramatically in recent years. Prince George's County, Maryland, a nearby suburb of the US capital, had more than 18,000 cars stolen in 2004, many by juvenile car thieves, according to an investigation the Washingtonian magazine published in December 2005. Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., with regard to the surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia. ... Prince Georges County is a suburban county located in the U.S. state of Maryland immediately north, east, and south of Washington, D.C. It is home to the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Andrews Air Force Base, the University of Marylands flagship... This article is about the country in North America. ... In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ...


In order to deter motor vehicle theft, most jurisdictions in North America require that the vehicle identification numbers (VIN) of motor vehicles be registered with a vehicle licensing authority, making it difficult to resell a stolen vehicle or possess stolen parts. Most motor vehicle theft involves dismantling the vehicle and selling its parts which are not registered and for which there is a large market, or by moving the vehicle to another country, where the local authorities may not be linked to the same database or such protections may not be in place. Vehicle identification numbers (VINs) are used to uniquely identify motor vehicles. ...


Motor vehicle theft in other countries

In central Europe, motor vehicle theft and car theft in particular are a serious problem, especially with high-priced vehicles; older cars and/or cars of lower value, however, are often just as much at risk. Regions of Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ...


In Germany, stealing motorized vehicles constitutes theft, a federal crime under the country's penal code. Sentences may vary but can be up to five years in prison if carried out systematically and in a gang-like manner. Plaintiffs may file additional charges as devised in the civil code. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Criminal Code. ... A civil code is a systematic compilation of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. ...


Germany owes much of its reputation as a hot spot for car theft to its proximity to Eastern Europe[citation needed]. Given the high demand for regular cars and luxury vehicles and more often than not rather lax investigation of stolen goods in the eastern part of the continent, many gangs from those countries scour Germany in search for expensive or otherwise popular cars which are then quickly moved through neighboring states and on to countries such as the Baltic states, Russia, and others.[citation needed] Some will be resold while others end up stripped for parts. A second group of car thieves can be described as typically of local origin with no ties to Eastern European gangs and with the objective of quickly turning their contraband into cash without going through the trouble of moving a car to another country. They include junkies and relatively small-time criminals.[citation needed] The definition of continental subregions in use by the United Nations. ... Baltic states and the Baltic Sea The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a term which nowadays refers to three countries in Northern Europe: Estonia Latvia Lithuania Prior to World War II, Finland was sometimes considered, particularly by the Soviet Union, a fourth Baltic state. ... A junkie (or junky) is a heroin addict. ...


To deter would-be car thieves, all newer vehicles are equipped with immobilisers. Most insurance companies require such a device and will deduct 10 percent of the car's replacement value after a theft if it was not installed. Additionally, VINs of stolen cars are put on police blacklists within the borders of the Schengen Agreement states. An immobiliser or immobilizer is an electronic device fitted to an automobile which prevents the engine from running unless the correct key (or other token) is present. ...  Schengen Agreement members  Signatories (agreement not yet implemented)  Expressed interest in joining A monument of the Schengen Agreement in Schengen A typical Schengen border crossing with no border control post, as here between Germany and Austria This article deals with the agreement and convention. ...


External articles

  • Top 10 stolen vehicle in America

See also


  Results from FactBites:
 
Motor vehicle theft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (733 words)
Motor vehicle theft is a crime of theft.
Motor vehicle theft in the US The crime is commonly charged under the name grand theft, auto in the U.S., however, other places refer to it as simply "felony theft" or "theft over", i.e., theft over a dollar amount that exceeds misdemeanor proportions.
In almost all jurisdictions, theft of a motor vehicle is punishable as a felony due to the extreme emotional and economic distress it causes to the victim and to society.
FBI - Crime in the US, 2002 - Crime Index Offenses Reported (1489 words)
The rate of motor vehicle thefts in the Nation in 2002 was an estimated 432.1 offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, which was a 0.4 percent increase over the 2001 rate.
Of the vehicles stolen in the Northeast, 88.5 percent were automobiles; in the Midwest, 78.5 percent, and in the West, 70.8 percent.
By age, of those persons arrested for motor vehicle thefts in 2002, 63.8 percent were under the age of 25 and 30.4 percent were under the age of 18.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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