POLICE BATTLING CAR THEFT INCREASE

Gastonia Saw Number Of Incidents Rise 37% Last Year

The number of car thefts is steadily increasing in Gastonia and Gaston
County, and police are trying to figure out how to stop it.

Last year, Gastonia had 549 reported motor vehicle thefts, up from 401 in
2003. This year, the city had 241 thefts from the start of this year
through May, according to police records.

"Reports come in from all over the city," said Detective Michael Chambers.

And the cars end up in all parts of the country. One man's Toyota Tacoma
was stolen at Franklin Square and found three days later in El Paso, Texas,
Chambers said.

He attributed last year's 37 percent jump in thefts mostly to "crack
trades," in which someone loans out his or her car in exchange for drugs,
usually crack cocaine. The drug dealer drives the car around for a while
and then abandons it or lends it to a friend, and the owner reports it
stolen, Chambers said.

Most of these cars tend to be expensive, and people can be so desperate for
drugs they'll exchange their cars for one crack rock, Chambers said. In
these cases, police usually charge the owner with filing a false police
report, but other charges could follow.

Other thefts occur when people leave their keys inside the car while
running a quick errand. And sometimes thieves are attracted to a particular
make and model that's easy to steal.

The Honda Accord, the most popular car stolen in Gastonia, has that
reputation, Chambers said. It's easy to start one with the simple push of a
screwdriver into the ignition, and thieves usually strip the cars and sell
the parts, he said. From September to January of this year, police saw a
large increase in the number of stolen Accords. On one day, five were
stolen, Chambers said. Other popular targets include Ford Explorers, Jeep
Cherokees and Ford F-150s, he said.

Gaston County isn't far behind when it comes to reported motor vehicle
thefts. In 2003, the county reported 452 cars stolen and ranked eighth
statewide, according to the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.

Police have seen a "noticeable increase" since then and don't know why,
said Gaston County Police Capt. Tony Robinson. Newer figures weren't
immediately available because the department is switching to new software,
he said.

Most of the thefts take place in the northwestern and southern parts of the
county, and police are collecting data to see if they can reverse the
trend, Robinson said. He could not explain why those areas are more prone
to car thefts.

Lincoln County, meanwhile, hasn't seen much of an increase in stolen cars.
The number of reported thefts increased from 58 in 2002 to 61 in 2003,
according to SBI data.