AUTOMOBILE THEFTS BY CITY 1984-1989+

Car theft in the county is accelerating again, threatening to spin out of control. After increasing yearly through 1984, ’85 and ‘86, car theft leveled off in 1987 (actually it declined a bit, sliding 1.2% between 1986 and ‘87). But the upward trend resumed in 1988 with a five-year high recorded in stolen cars, 18% higher than the 1987 figure.

But those numbers may pale in comparison to 1989 when this year’s thieves are finished. If the rate of theft during the first eight months continues until the end of the year, approximately 13,500 cars will have been stolen from their owners--a 25% increase beyond last year.

City Total 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 Anaheim 7,456 1,130 1,523 1,449 1,243 1,139 972 Brea++ 761 111 165 147 133 121 84 Buena Park 1,906 298 451 336 315 265 241 Costa Mesa 2,742 464 609 494 469 373 333 Cypress 600 107 123 117 107 62 84 Fountain Valley 993 180 245 168 158 122 120 Fullerton* 2,612 332 339 457 534 576 37 Garden Grove 4,418 670 955 832 825 620 516 Huntington Beach 3,388 524 670 547 647 512 488 Irvine** 1,233 255 273 224 208 154 119 La Palma 267 50 63 48 35 39 32 La Habra 778 122 159 145 143 107 102 Laguna Beach 344 52 70 71 50 57 44 Los Alamitos 161 27 40 26 29 23 16 Newport Beach 1,368 186 254 247 222 234 225 Orange 2,155 301 453 406 401 329 265 Placentia 431 65 93 84 74 55 60 San Clemente 485 98 136 73 78 50 50 Santa Ana 11,597 1,784 2,496 1,952 2,180 1,761 1,424 Seal Beach 278 44 59 42 34 61 38 Stanton 553 N/A 15 160 155 102 121 Tustin 1,059 144 279 183 194 114 145 Westminster 2,148 351 461 287 423 363 263 CHP 238 28 26 40 52 51 41 Sheriff 3,519 582 836 626 562 465 448

+ Through Aug. 4, 1989 ++ Includes Yorba Linda * Includes reports from CSUF Police Department ** Includes reports from UCI Police Department N/A: Information not available

CAR THEFT TREND * Through Aug. 4, 1989

TEN MOST COMMONLY STOLEN AUTOMOBILES, 1984-1989+ Automobile: Number

Volkswagen Bug: 4,189

Toyota Celica: 3,598

Toyota Corolla: 2,170

Chevrolet Camero: 2,140

Ford Mustang: 1,800

Oldsmobile Cutlass: 1,117

Chevrolet Monte Carlo: 1,002

Datsun 280Z: 970

Toyota Corona: 920

Datsun B210: 913

+ Through Aug. 4, 1989

Source: California Department of Justice