Hey! Where's my car?

Photo illustration by Dominick Porras

The sight of broken glass on the ground in the space where the four-wheeled, steel-framed debtmobile was parked is becoming a routine occurrence on campus.

Look around at the shattered pieces of window, and remember that The Club was left sitting on the passenger seat. Wonder if life will ever get back to normal, and how good it would feel to choke the life out of whoever stole your car.

During the past semester, 21 cars and trucks have been stolen from CSUS parking lots -- eight vehicles a month. Lots 1, 2, and 8 have been the hardest-hit in vehicle thefts, but the fact that no parking lot is safe creates a need for awareness and prevention. The most frequently-stolen cars on campus are Jeep Cherokees, Honda Accords and Civics, and Acura Integras, according to university police.

"Our stolen vehicles are similar to the ones stolen around the county and city," said police investigator John Hamrick.

Here are a few suggestions compiled from the University Police, the FBI, and the manufactures of The Club on how to keep your car safe. Always park smart: Arrive early and park in a spot with high foot or automobile traffic. Use a deterrent: Install a visible or audible anti-theft device on your vehicle Mark it: Drop a business card or piece of paper with your name and driver's license number on it down the inside of both doors, and etch the vehicle identification number into all the car windows. Know what you drive: If your car type is frequently stolen, take more precautions and invest in comprehensive insurance. Keep records: Copy your license tag and vehicle identification numbers on a piece of paper and keep them with you, so you can quickly enter your car into the statewide network if stolen. Look around: Report any suspicious activity in the campus parking lots to the University Police by using the campus call boxes or by calling 278-6854.

The campus figures differ slightly from national auto theft statistics, which rank Honda Accords, Toyota Camrys, Oldsmobile Cutlasses, and Honda Civics as the top four stolen cars in the United States, according to the FBI.

According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, Sacramento has the eleventh-highest rate of auto theft in the country, and California ranks second in the nation for auto theft, with one out of every 760.6 cars reported stolen.

University police has had incidents reported of students seeing their car being driven off by the thief, or walking up upon someone trying to steal their car.

In many situations, the perpetrators will park their own vehicle next to the car they plan to steal and pretend to be working on their own car, while in reality they are trying to steal the car they have parked next to, Hamrick said.

Fortunately most of the vehicles stolen from campus are recovered within two days, having been used primarily for transportation or parts, he said.

In one recent incident, a vehicle was stolen from the residence hall parking lot and found in a different parking lot on campus three days later.

A recent report from the FBI said that an automobile is stolen in the United States every 23 seconds.