Upstate Auto Thefts On The Rise In 2007

By From the Archives
Published: April 22, 2008
Updated: April 22, 2008

Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg all saw an increase in stolen vehicles according to numbers released Tuesday by the National Crime Bureau.

Anderson ranks 42nd in the U.S. According to the NICB annual report on auto theft rates.

The number of vehicles stolen in South Carolina remains steady with over 23,000 vehicles stolen in the metropolitan statistical areas around the state in 2007.

Myrtle Beach continues to hold the number one spot of all the South Carolina MSAs and is ranked number 23 in the country for vehicle theft. The NICB and local law enforcement officials say Myrtle Beach has a higher vehicle theft rate due to the distance to the state line as well as the high rate of tourism and popular large events in the area each year.

Preliminary data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows a 7.4 percent decrease in vehicle theft nationally.

2007 Rank	2006 Rank	2005 Rank	MSA	Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)Name	2007 Thefts	2007 Rate	2006 Thefts	2006 Rate	2005 Thefts	2005 Rate
23	20	27	34820	Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC MSA	1,545	618.19	1,668	695.71	1,410	616.86
38	29	25	16740	Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord-Rock Hill, NC-SC MSA	8,600	520.72	9,401	593.18	9,609	631.26
42	54	58	11340	Anderson, SC MSA	928	515.61	854	482.25	877	502.90
55	76	98	12260	Augusta-Richmond County-Aiken, GA-SC MSA	2,385	451.26	2,266	433.59	2,093	404.36
64	90	91	43900	Spartanburg, SC MSA	1,187	430.80	1,111	411.63	1,109	417.44
75	95	86	24860	Greenville, SC MSA	2,515	409.72	2,396	398.99	2,508	425.18
81	83	75	17900	Columbia, SC MSA	2,879	402.08	2,925	415.61	3,138	453.72
88	145	120	44940	Sumter, SC MSA	403	387.71	314	301.65	375	357.66
98	123	115	22500	Florence, SC MSA	710	357.29	685	346.42	722	366.79
132	119	132	16700	Charleston-N. Charleston, SC MSA	1,890	299.95	2,083	337.51	1,917	318.56