Foil car thieves, detectives advise.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

Eugene police detectives are expecting 2005 to be another record-breaking year for car thefts in the city.

Detective Dennis Doe said the number of stolen cars went up 62 percent between January and June this year, compared with the first half of 2004.

And thefts have increased every year since 2000, he said.

Honda Accords and Civics are still the two car makes most often stolen in Eugene. Then comes the Toyota Camry and in fourth place, the Nissan Pathfinder.

Car owners often play an unintentional role in the thefts.

"One in seven cars are stolen because the keys are readily accessible," said Doe, the city's only car theft detective.

A surprising number of people leave the key in the ignition, most often to "warm up" the car during cold weather. And thieves can easily find that spare key you keep taped to the underside of your bumper. It's also a great day for a car thief when he breaks into your car and finds a key to your spouse's or housemate's car hidden in the ashtray.

Police have seen an increase in the number of cars stolen for their expensive aftermarket accessories, such as fancy rims and spoilers.

And it's always a bad idea to leave valuables in sight, Doe said.

"What they're looking for when they break into cars is something of value to support a drug habit," he said. "When people leave items in their car, they are tempting someone to steal the car."

That's because these days, a thief might take the whole car to get at the pricey items he thinks might be inside rather than risk being caught in the act by an irate car owner.

"We are starting to see significant strips inside vehicles," Doe said. "They're taking seats, door panels, radios, anything of value that they can turn into cash."

There's an "unbelievable" market for stolen car parts and accessories, the detective said, and the loot is easy to move.

Police officers do what they can to combat the rising number of car thefts. The department prints out a daily "hot sheet" listing all cars reported stolen in the county in the past 21 days. Last week, there were 40 cars on the hot sheet.

Officers look for the cars while responding to other calls and patrolling the streets.

Officer Holly Grimes rounded up five stolen Hondas in one shift last month.

"We truly have a lot of officers that go out and pursue the stolen vehicles and try to recover them," Doe said.

And detectives are working across jurisdictional boundaries to bring the most prolific car thieves to justice.

Budget cuts at the Lane County District Attorney's Office mean that some of the less-serious property crimes don't get prosecuted. So detectives have started "bundling" individual car thefts committed by the same person into one large case that's more attractive to prosecutors.

Cooperation among agencies makes sense, since many cars stolen in Eugene are found in Springfield and the county, and vice versa, Doe said. And car thieves often dabble in other criminal activity that emerges during investigations.

"We're trying to pool all of the cases together to target the individuals doing the most damage, then ship it over to the DA's office as one package," Doe said. "These guys aren't just stealing cars. They're also doing burglaries, shoplifting, forgeries and other theft-related crimes."

Doe warned against confronting someone who is burglarizing or stealing your car. Instead, go inside and call police without letting the thief know you've seen him.

A Springfield man learned that painful lesson last week when he confronted a man and a woman who were in the process of stealing his car from an apartment complex parking lot on Lindale Drive.

He got into a scuffle with the male suspect, who ended up stabbing him in the shoulder with a Leatherman-type tool.

The victim survived and a suspect was arrested and charged with felony assault and car theft.

"People need to understand that if these people are all doing this because they need money for drugs, you have to wonder what mental state they're in," Doe said. "Instead, be the best witness you can be. Get a good suspect description and notify police. Then let us do our job."

Protect yourself

Eugene police Detective Dennis Doe has some theft-prevention ideas for local car owners.

Park in a well-lighted, visible area and lock all doors.

Never leave valuables in sight.

Remove the face plate from the car stereo when you leave your car.

Don't keep a spare key hidden in your car.

Never leave a running car unattended.

Install a security system if you can afford it. Some insurance companies offer discounted premiums to car owners with alarms.