Auto Thefts Down 9 Percent Statewide, Down 36 Percent Locally

Automobile thefts in Michigan fell 9.35 percent from 2009 to 2010, according to a recent release from the Michigan Automobile Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA). Since the inception of the ATPA in 1986, auto thefts in Michigan have fallen by 62 percent.

In West Bloomfield, auto thefts have decreased more than 36.6 percent in the past year. In 2010, 30 incidents of auto theft were reported in West Bloomfield; in 2011, that number fell to 19 incidents, according to the most recent annual review.

So which vehicles are most likely to be stolen? Here's a look at auto theft statistics from 2011:

Michigan's most stolen vehicles

  1.    2000 Dodge Ram Pickup

  2.    1999 Dodge Ram Pickup

  3.    2002 Dodge Ram Pickup

  4.    1998 Ford Pickup

  5.    1997 Dodge Ram Pickup

  6.    1998 Dodge Ram Pickup

  7.    2003 Dodge Ram Pickup

  8.    1996 Chevrolet Pickup

  9.    1999 Ford Pickup

10.    1997 Chevrolet Pickup

Thieves' favorite choices

       Color

        Month

  Day of Week

  1.   Black

  1.  November

 1.   Tuesday

  2.   White

  2.  December

 2.   Monday

  3.   Red

  3.  October

 3.   Thursday

  4.   Blue

  4.  September 

 4.   Wednesday

  5.   Silver

  5.  August

 5.   Friday

  6.   Green

  6.  July

 6.   Saturday

  7.   Gray

  7.  June

 7.   Sunday

  8.   Maroon

  8.  May

  9.   Gold

  9.  April

10.   Tan

10.  March

The ATPA is funded by an annual $1 assessment on each insured noncommercial passenger vehicle, plus interest earned by investing those funds.  It is governed by a seven-member board of directors appointed by the Governor, which includes representatives of law enforcement, automobile insurers and consumers of automobile insurance.  Each year the board awards grants to law enforcement agencies, prosecutors' offices and nonprofit community organizations to prevent auto theft, catch auto thieves and put the thieves in jail.

Tim Rath contributed to this report.