From 1999 to 2004, the number of vehicle thefts in California increased by 49.4 percent, according to state Department of Justice statistics released last week. Between 2003 and 2004, vehicle thefts increased 4.5 percent, contributing to an overall rise in property crime.
Poochigian, a Fresno Republican running for attorney general next year, uses those statistics to criticize the Legislature for killing a bill he introduced in 1997 that would have required repeat car thieves to be charged with felonies.
He also is using them to fuel new legislation that could elevate car theft to a "strike" under California's "three strikes" law for repeat offenders. The law doubles the sentence for a convicted felon who has one previous serious or violent felony conviction. A third felony conviction means life in prison.
Auto theft now can be charged as a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, but many offenders receive misdemeanors and don't serve prison time. Repeat offenders are not required to receive tougher sentences.
To back up his argument, Poochigian points to burglary, which is a "three strikes" offense. Between 1999 and 2004, the number of burglaries rose by 9.4 percent - far less than vehicle thefts. From 2003 to 2004, burglaries rose by 1.7 percent. The "three strikes" law was created in 1994.
The central San Joaquin Valley is a hot spot for car thieves. In August, Fresno and the Visalia-Tulare-Porterville area were among the top 10 areas in the nation for auto theft. Fresno placed ninth and the Tulare County cities placed seventh.
Frank Scafidi, a spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, which issued the report, said one reason car thieves like the valley is because Interstate 5 and Highway 99 provide easy escape routes.
He said an increase in the car-theft penalty would prevent some crimes. Equally important, he said, is that current laws be aggressively enforced.
The bureau, a not-for-profit organization supported by insurance companies, endorsed Poochigian's 1997 legislation, which passed the Assembly but was killed in the Senate Public Safety Committee.
But Scafidi, who spent 30 years in law enforcement, isn't convinced that car theft should become a strike. He worries it would dilute the original intent of the law, which was to crack down on violent career criminals.
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