TEXAS AUTOMOBILE THEFT PREVENTION AUTHORITY

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WELCOME TO THE EL PASO COUNTY AUTO THEFT PREVENTION TASK FORCE PAGE

HISTORY

The El Paso County Auto Burglary Theft Prevention Task Force was created in 1993 and was funded in larger part by a grant to combat auto thefts from the Texas Auto Burglary Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA). In 1993 El Paso ranked #1 in the United States in auto thefts. The average theft total per-week was between 125-150 vehicles. The ABTPA grant funding allowed the El Paso County Auto Burglary Theft Prevention Task Force to grow with additional investigators, officers, supervisors and civilian personnel.

The additional resources allowed the Task Force to conduct field surveillance, have dedicated intelligence information gathering, raise public awareness through education, participate in the statewide Help End Auto Theft (H.E.A.T.) program, conduct Organized Crime Ring Investigations and through time develop the state’s first Border Partners unit dealing with our counterparts from Mexico. The Auto Theft Task Force and its partnership with the Mexican authorities have increased the theft recovery rate from approximately 23% to over 40%.

With all of these developments in the El Paso County Auto Burglary Theft Task Force the vehicle theft rate in El Paso has decreased during the 13 of the 16 years of its existence, with only a 1% rise in 2002 and an 8% rise in the theft rate in 2005 and an average of less than 35 stolen vehicles per-week. For the third straight year in a row, the auto theft rate has decreased, and for the year 2009 the auto theft rate decreased over 30 percent.

The El Paso County Auto Burglary Theft Prevention Task Force was the recipient of the 1999 Vehicle Theft Award of Merit given by the International Chiefs of Police, the 2001 Peter Girard Award, 4 Unit Commendations awarded in August 1998, October 1998, March 2000, June 2007, and in 2009 the unit received a Certificate of Recognition for a significant reduction of auto thefts in El Paso by the Military Order of the World Wars.

MISSION STATEMENT

It is the mission of the El Paso County Auto Theft Prevention Task Force to reduce the theft rate and victimization of the citizens of El Paso through investigation, apprehension and prosecution of auto thieves. To educate the public on auto theft, auto theft prevention, and create partnerships with Mexican authorities in an effort to combat auto theft on an international level.

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