Auto Thefts Down Across Maricopa County

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office reports that car thefts in the Arizona county dropped more than 8.5 percent in 2012.

The agency says that marks the fifth consecutive year of declines, according to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

The statistics show a decline in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area from roughly 323 thefts per 100,000 residents to fewer than 282 thefts per 100,000 residents.

The county attorney’s office says that in 2008, the area had more than 600 thefts per 100,000 residents.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery says the figures show that law enforcement is doing its job to reduce the numbers of such crimes, and his office will continue to aggressively prosecute the cases.