THE UNIVERSITY DAILY IKANSAN
FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2007
NEWS
CRIME
3A
Grand Theft Auto: Lawrence
Simple measures can keep thieves away
BY MARK DENT mdent@kansan.com
Here's a tip for any Pontiac Grand Am owner reading this article: Put down the paper and make sure your car is locked.
That message goes for people who drive Honda Accords and Dodge Neons, too.
Owners should pay attention because those cars have been stolen more often than any other kind in Lawrence. Certain car models are greater targets for theft because of their age, foreign value and popularity with drivers.
According to Lawrence Police, 86 cars have been stolen in Lawrence this year as of August 15. Of those stolen, four were Neons. Accords and Chevrolet Silverados were next on the list with three reported thefts each. Grand Am are hot items on police reports now. Since August 17, two of them have been reported stolen, and a previously stolen Grand Am was recovered.
One of the stolen cars is a 1993 model. Old cars are stolen more often because they usually don't have an
advanced security system, said Frank Scafidi, spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau. They also contain parts people could be looking for to fix their cars. Scafidi said
thieves would often steal an old car, remove its parts and sell them to a body shop. Scafidi said lots of body shops engaged in stolen trade so they could offer the parts at prices lower than a dealership.
"Some other places won't even allow American cars, so there's always a thirst for them in other markets."
Although none of the top stolen cars in Lawrence are luxury cars, vehicles such as BMW's, Hummers and Cadillac Escalades are also likely to be stolen. Thieves steal these cars
FRANK SCAFIDI National Insurance Crime Bureau spokesman
Cars stolen most often this year:
to ship them to other countries and sell them on a black market, Scafidi said. He said foreign groups sometimes requested certain types of cars they desired, and thieves in the United States would steal them to make a sale.
Dodge Neon-four thefts
Lawrence auto thefts
Honda Accord- three thefts
Chevrolet Silverado- three thefts
Scafidi said
GMC Sierra- two thefts
Information from the Lawrence Police Department
some car models were targets for theft simply because there were more of them on the road. According to Automotive News, Silverados were the No. 2 selling car in America in 2006. Accords ranked fifth. Nick Blume, a Hays senior who owns a Grand Am, said he'd seen plenty of his model on Lawrence roads.
"Everywhere you look, it seems like there's a car like mine," he said. "If you're going to steal a car, there's obviously a greater percentage of taking this car."
Edited by Kyle Carter
"Some other places won't even allow American cars, so there's always a thirst for them in other markets." Scafidi said. "So if you have a dozen Escalades, that will go for good money."
Lawrence Police Sergeant Paul Fellers and Scafidi advised owners to lock their doors and never leave their car running unattended to avoid theft. Scafidi also said to roll up windows, take keys with you and not leave valuables in plain sight. Those, he said, are the easiest and cheapest
ways to keep your car from being added to the list of the most stolen. Blume keeps his Grand Am safe by using an alarm system and locking his car.
"Robberies happen a lot in college towns," he said. "You just have to lock it every time."
national auto thefts
1,235,226 cars were stolen in the United States in 2005, the last year for which data was available. Here are the 10 models stolen most often.
1. 1991 Honda Accord
2. 1995 Honda Civic
3. 1989 Toyota Camry
4. 1994 Dodge Caravan
5. 1994 Nissan Sentra
6. 1997 Ford F-150
7. 1990 Acura Integra
8. 1986 Toyota Pickup
9. 1993 Saturn SL
10. 2004 Dodge Ram
Statistics are from the National Insurance Crime Bureau
Patrols increased for Labor Day
POLICE
Impaired drivers targeted by police
BY COURTNEY CONDRON
ccondron@kansan.com
County and city law enforcement officers will heighten patrol over the Labor Day weekend as more people are on the roads.
"The thing people need to realize is that we will be arresting
The Douglas County Sheriff's Department and the Lawrence Police Department will have lanes to check for impaired drivers tonight from 11 p.m. until 2 a.m. Lawrence police will also do Saturation Patrol today from 5 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.
people driving that are impaired," said Lt. John Eichkorn of the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Lawrence,
Douglas
County
and Kansas
Highway Patrol
are also all participating in
car crashes, while in an average weekend in 2006 there were four fatal crashes. Captain Tim Hull, the director of the public information and education division of the Missouri Highway Patrol, said there were 18 people killed in Missouri over Labor Day weekend last year from various causes.
"It itms because of the high volume of traffic, and because a lot of people do make plans for the weekend, there is a higher propensity for wrecks to happen," said Lt. Kari Wempe, the Public/Policy Information Officer for the Douglas County Sheriff's Department.
For students traveling through
"We will be joining with other law enforcement participants and really looking for that impaired driver, because there will be those people who have not listened to our precautions," Eichkorn said.
JOHN EICHKORN
Kansas Highway Patrol lieutenant
"The thing people need to realize is that we will be arresting those people driving that are impaired."
Eichhorn said in Kansas there were seven deaths over the Labor Day weekend in 2006 from six fatal
the Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) that pays for officers to work overtime. The work will be continuing all weekend as well. Douglas County will be facilitating STEP today from 7:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m., meaning that more officers will be on patrol during that time.
Missouri this weekend, Hull said they would be making use of every officer and putting every officer they could on the road during the travelling period, including vacation areas such as the Ozarks.
"Officers will be in that area and focused on major highways and the back ways to get there," Hull said. "They'll be looking for everything, including speeding and those under the influence of drugs or alcohol."
Eichorn said the goal was to do what they can to reduce the number of wrecks they saw last year.
Houston, Nowak can lose monitoring bracelet
"It's imperative for our people to plan for this weekend, because there is a whole new group of 21-year-olds out there who may consider drinking at these celebrations and then getting on the road," Eichkorn said.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Former astronaut Lisa Nowak can remove an electronic monitoring bracelet from her ankle while she awaits trial on charges she attacked a romantic rival, a judge ruled Thursday.
Nowak had argued that the bracelet was expensive, bulky and uncomfortable. Judge Marc
NASA
The woman Nowak is accused of attacking asked a court to require Nowak to continue wearing the device. Colleen Shipman said she still feared Nowak.
Nowak is still prohibited from contacting Shipman or Bill Oefelein, the former shuttle pilot both women dated, Lubet said in
L. Lubet said that those claims did not matter, but that Nowak had behaved well enough over the past seven months to remove the device.
Edited by Jeff Briscoe
the order. Nowak has no reason to travel to Florida, where Shipman lives, other than court, or to Virginia, where Shipman's boyfriend lives, the judge said.
Nowak is also barred from neighboring Maryland, Delaware and Washington,D.C., without court approval, according to the filing.
Nowak, a Navy captain, is still under the previous bond of $25,500. Lubet wrote.
Associated Press
Set & Lighting Design by Lee Saylor · Stage Manager: Jakob Wozniak