219 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
219 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
January 1991
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THE RAT PATROL RIDES!
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By
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Paul C. Ricks
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Deputy Chief of Police
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Colorado Springs, Colorado, Police Department
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In the fall of 1988, the rate of automobile thefts increased
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dramatically all across the Nation; the City of Colorado
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Springs, Colorado, was no exception. Although the department
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continued to emphasize traditional anti-crime measures, such as
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information bulletins at roll call, and alerting the auto theft
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unit the rate continued to increase. In fact, within 1 year,
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the number of automobile thefts occurring within the city jumped
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an astonishing 77.9 percent. (1) It became obvious to the
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department that only through a well-organized, permanent
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response could the department solve existing auto theft cases
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and prevent future thefts. After considering the various
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options available, department administrators decided to form a
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special auto theft detail.
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EMERGENCE OF THE RAT PATROL
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The newly created detail, christened the RAT Patrol (Reduce
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Auto Theft), consisted of two officers from the Tactical
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Enforcement Unit, two officers from each patrol shift, and a
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sergeant. The patrol shift officers were assigned to the detail
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and were trained for a period of approximately 90 days. They
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were then rotated back to their shifts and were replaced by
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different officers. This insured a constant infusion of
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training and tactical information to the patrol shifts.
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The team worked in plain-clothes and used unmarked vehicles
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borrowed from the Investigative Bureau. However, in order to
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provide enough vehicles for the RAT officers, local insurance
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companies were approached for help. One company responded by
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supplying two vehicles a recovered stolen vehicle and a
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corporate vehicle.
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Selected RAT Patrol officers received special training in
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locating hidden vehicle identification numbers, restoring
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obliterated vehicle identification numbers, recognizing stolen
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vehicles, conducting investigations involving auto thefts, and
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interviewing/interrogating suspects. These officers then
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prepared a 4-hour block of inservice training for all Patrol
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Bureau personnel. Several sessions were needed to train the 355
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persons assigned to the Patrol Bureau, and these sessions were
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scheduled around the clock to accommodate shift scheduling and
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to avoid overtime expenditures.
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ATTACKING THE PROBLEM
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The mission of the RAT Patrol was to enable the department
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to deal with the rising auto theft rate in a more effective
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manner. Therefore, in order for RAT officers to have a better
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understanding of the problems that faced them, the Crime
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Analysis Unit (CAU) conducted a detailed analysis of the crime,
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which revealed the following information about the auto thefts
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occurring within the city:
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* The suspects were usually juveniles or young adults
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* The same suspects or their close associates were
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suspects in a high percentage of cases cleared
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* Juvenile suspects taken into custody for auto thefts
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were not detained by the juvenile center
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* Juveniles adjudicated as delinquents were not usually
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incarcerated; if they were incarcerated, their sentences
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were very short
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* Young adults convicted of auto theft were generally not
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incarcerated until they had multiple convictions, and
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then, the sentence was minimal
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In addition to the suspect information contained in the
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profile, the RAT officers also learned that high-performance cars
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were the most popular target and that most thefts occurred in the
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eastern part of the city during the evening hours. The most
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popular methods of theft included taking cars with keys left in
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the ignition, breaking the steering column, or hot wiring the
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car.
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INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES
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Information contained in the crime analysis served as an
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important tool in the development of new investigative
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techniques. One investigative technique developed by RAT
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officers to use in stolen auto cases was working pattern cases
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"backwards." To do this, they began with known auto thieves and
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identified the cases that fit an individual's (or group's)
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pattern. They also did "link analysis" charts on known auto
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thieves and their associates, as well as gangs of thieves.
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RAT officers also focused special attention on cases that
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involved the most popular target vehicles because these cases
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were generally found to involve repeat offenders. To increase
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the probability of cooperation, they devised a system to allow
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off-duty RAT officers to interrogate suspects immediately after
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their arrests. This "call-out" system ensured that experienced
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officers were available to process recovered stolen vehicles
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thoroughly for items of evidence. RAT officers also varied their
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work hours to coordinate their schedules with the times most
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vehicles were stolen.
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A final investigative technique used by RAT officers was to
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monitor closely potential outlets for stolen vehicles and parts
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and accessories. Popular stolen accessories included CD players,
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tape decks, radios, and cellular phones.
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COOPERATION WITH JUDICIAL SYSTEMS
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The Analysis Unit profile shed light on yet another problem
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the department faced in its efforts against auto thefts ensuring
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that offenders were incarcerated. If persons in the judicial
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system could be convinced of the necessity of incarceration, it
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would remove repeat offenders from the streets, and perhaps,
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serve as a deterrent to those who may be considering auto theft.
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RAT officers believed that "vertical prosecution" for all
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auto theft cases was the key to ensuring that auto theft
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offenders would be incarcerated. They gained the cooperation of
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the District Attorney's office, and an agreement was reached to
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have one prosecuting attorney assigned to conduct all phases of
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any auto theft cases brought to them for filing. This prevented
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an offender who had cases pending simultaneously in several
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different divisions of the district court from receiving "first
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offender" treatment in multiple cases. In return, the
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department agreed to have an auto theft investigator present at
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every stage of all court proceedings that involved either the
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theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. The investigator
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was prepared to testify not only to the facts of the specific
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case under consideration, but also to the general scope of the
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auto theft problem within the area and the impact it had on the
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community.
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To further strengthen their position with the courts, the
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RAT officers asked the CAU to prepare "community impact
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statements." These statements outlined the number of thefts and
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the dollar amount of the losses caused by top auto theft
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offenders as a result of the current prosecutorial and judicial
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treatment of youthful auto theft defendants. In an effort to
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educate the courts concerning the problems the RAT patrol faced,
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these statements were presented in meetings and discussion
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sessions held with the District Attorney's personnel, judges, and
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juvenile court referees. The statements were also used to
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encourage stiffer sentences for both juvenile and adult
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offenders. As offenders were incarcerated more rapidly and for
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longer periods of time, the auto theft rate began to decline.
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SUCCESS OF THE RAT PATROL
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In 1989, the stolen vehicle rate dropped approximately 2
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percent compared to the 1988 rate. The recovery rate in 1989 saw
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an even more dramatic change, increasing almost 10 percent to 91
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percent. First month statistics for 1990 show that the decline
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experienced in the last half of 1989 continues. A comparison of
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the January 1990, figures to the January 1989, figures show a
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45-percent decrease in the auto theft rate.
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INTRA-AGENCY EFFORTS
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While the RAT patrol has contributed greatly to the
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reduction in auto thefts, intra-agency cooperation has also
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played an important role. The auto theft detectives continued
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to follow up on all reported auto thefts, while RAT officers
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conducted surveillance of high-incidence locations and known
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auto theft suspects. In addition, the Auto Theft Unit handled
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followup investigations, isolated auto theft cases, multiple
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related cases, identifiable pattern cases, and "chop shop"
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operations. The detectives tracked every reported auto theft
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case to ensure that it received proper attention and that
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followup reports were submitted promptly. They also presented
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auto theft cases to the District Attorney's office to guarantee
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precise case coordination, and they inspected salvage yards to
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ensure that operators did not store vehicles, which may have
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been stolen, along the roadside in violation of city zoning
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laws.
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The Total Resources Against Career Criminals (TRACC) Unit
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of the Investigative Bureau concentrated its anti theft efforts
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on the apprehension of career criminals active in the stolen car
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field, and several of these felons were incarcerated as habitual
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offenders. During the analysis phase of the RAT plan, the
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department determined that many repeat auto thieves were
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juveniles, and for this reason, the TRACC Unit did followups on
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these cases. This resulted in quicker adjudications and longer
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sentences for these juveniles.
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Another successful project has been the Top Auto Theft
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Offender project, which involves determining a point system for
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individuals who are either arrested or convicted for offenses
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involving the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. A
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list of offenders was distributed to all officers, and offenders'
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names were entered into both the Colorado Criminal Information
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Center and the department's computerized criminal history files.
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Any officer checking an individual for wants/warrants would be
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notified if that person were on the list.
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CONCLUSION
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The dedication and total commitment of RAT patrol officers
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contributes to the success of this program. Through innovative
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thinking and a strong desire to create a cooperative spirit, both
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inside and outside the department, they have successfully
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attacked a major problem in the community.
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FOOTNOTE
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(1) There were 169 vehicles stolen in January 1989
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compared to 95 vehicles stolen in 1988.
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