NCJ Number
177321
Date Published
1998
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This 1997 Annual Report presents information and data on the activities and achievements of the Illinois Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Council, an 11-member coalition established by the Illinois General Assembly in 1991 to reduce vehicle theft, vehicle insurance fraud, and related crimes.
Abstract
The Illinois Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act requires that insurance companies pay into a special trust fund an amount equal to $1 for each private-passenger automobile insured for physical damage coverage. This amount, collected and administered by the Council, totals approximately $5.4 million each year. These funds are designated primarily for law enforcement programs that increase the investigation and prosecution of vehicle theft crimes. The steady increase in reported auto thefts from 1988 to 1991 was reversed in the years 1991-97 (the period of the Council's existence) to show a 26-percent decrease. The Council's grant funds have significantly improved motor vehicle theft law enforcement through the creation of task forces, investigative teams, and other special efforts throughout the State. These programs have shown impressive results: 7,991 criminal investigations initiated; 14,884 audits of vehicle-related businesses; 4,409 persons arrested; 1,029 convictions; and nearly 10,000 stolen and contraband vehicles recovered, worth more than $68 million. The $37 million granted by the Council from 1991 through 1997 has thus resulted in a $166 million return from recovered stolen vehicles and reduced theft rates, yielding a return of nearly $5 for every $1 spent. This report presents summaries of the 21 programs funded in 1997, including purpose, activities, and results, along with the funding amount.