EVERETT — Auto thefts in Snohomish County have dropped by more than half since last year, statistics show.
Since 2008, the number of stolen cars in the first quarter of the year fell 52 percent, Snohomish County sheriff’s Lt. Brent Speyer said.
He runs the Snohomish County Auto Theft Task Force, a group formed in October with a focused mission.
“We’re trying to send a message to the criminals: Leave the county, quit stealing cars or go to prison,” Speyer said.
Even people in jail have mentioned the new task force as a reason to look for a new line of business, he said.
Speyer credited the new team, tougher laws and education as the reason for the success.
In 2007, a law was passed that stiffened penalties for people convicted of stealing vehicles. It also directed $10 from every traffic ticket toward funding auto-theft prevention.
The Snohomish County task force is made up of detectives from the sheriff’s office; Monroe, Lynnwood and Marysville police; and the Washington State Patrol. Also helping are an Everett police analyst, a prosecutor and a secretary from the Snohomish County prosecutor’s office.
Currently there are eight similar task forces working throughout the state.
Statewide, auto thefts have declined by about 25 percent in the year’s first quarter, Speyer said. In other counties with auto theft task forces, the rates have varied from a slight increase in Spokane County to a drop of 44 percent in Pierce County.
The Snohomish County task force has shown the sharpest decline statewide.
“It makes us feel like we’re having an impact,” Speyer said.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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