Auto thefts reported up 4.5% in state

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore., finished fourth on the Northwest Insurance Council’s list of worst places in the region for auto theft, with 6,916 reported thefts and a rate of 298.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. That’s about half of the rate of regional leader Spokane, which the council said has one of the worst auto theft rates in the U.S.

SEATTLE (AP) — The Northwest Insurance Council says the number of auto thefts in Washington rose 4.5 percent in 2013, in contrast to a 3.5 percent decline nationally.

The council said Thursday that Spokane had 3,200 thefts and had the highest rate in the state at 598 per 100,000 residents. That was up 6 percent and ranks Spokane seventh nationally — the only city in the top 10 outside California in theft rate.

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area had far more thefts — 18,128 — but a rate that’s second in the state behind Spokane.

The council says Yakima had a 31 percent decrease and ranks third in the state in theft rate.

Last year, 31, 960 vehicles were reported stolen in Washington, an average of 88 a day.