Having your car stolen or broken into in New Westminster has decreased markedly in the last decade.
According to statistics released by ICBC last week, in New Westminster, there were 86 per cent fewer vehicle thefts and 71 per cent fewer break-ins in 2012 compared to 2003, when the provincial bait car program was introduced.
The raw numbers from New Westminster show that auto thefts topped out at 810 in 2003 and have fallen almost every year since, with only 150 auto thefts in 2011 and 110 in 2012. Overall, that's an 86 per cent drop in 10 years and a 23 per cent decrease from 2011 to 2012.
Theft from auto statistics in the Royal City have also show that same steady decline, starting at 980 in 2003, falling every year until 2008, before slight increases in 2009 and 2010. But in 2011, the numbers were on the decline again, going to 390 before falling to a low-water mark of 290 in 2012.
Overall, New Westminster's theft from auto numbers have dropped 71 per cent in the last decade, and 27 per cent from 2011 to 2012.
That's a trend authorities are hoping to continue, as the provincial government, the integrated municipal provincial auto crime team and ICBC launched this year's Auto Crime Enforcement Month for February.
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