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Car theft has been a problem in the United States since cars were invented. A car or other vehicle is stolen in the United States every 28.8 seconds according to 2008 data from the FBI. The chances of your car being stolen in the U.S. are 1 in 210 according to data from federal agencies and the Insurance Information Institute. The odds vary geographically. The Northeast has the lowest incidence of vehicle thefts, about 9.8 percent, and the Midwest 18.2 percent. The South and West have the highest percentage of vehicle thefts, about 36 percent each. Your chances of having your car stolen are highest in urban areas.

The III reported dismal statistics in 2007 on apprehending car thieves, with an arrest rate of only 12.6 percent. Furthermore, the the National Insurance Crime Bureau reported that year that 41 percent of stolen vehicles were never recovered. If your car is stolen, there isn’t much you can do after the fact except call the police and file an insurance claim. Meanwhile, you won’t have transportation unless you either rent a car or go out and buy another one. It’s much better to take the following precautions to prevent car theft before it happens to you.

* Lock your vehicle and don’t leave it running. Your car’s door locks are the cheapest, easiest deterrent against car thieves. Don’t leave sunroofs or windows open, even on the hottest days. Leaving your car running while you’re not around is an open invitation for theft. Law enforcement officials stress that many cars are stolen on a whim for joyriding purposes because the owner made it easy for the thief.

* Invest in a garage if you can. If you have a garage, you can increase your car’s security (and your own) by always locking it. If you don’t have a garage, parking in your driveway is safer than a spot at the curb. Away from home, pick your parking spots carefully and avoid poorly lit, low-traffic streets, especially after dark.

* Don’t make thieves’ job easier. Crime experts warn against leaving a spare key hidden in or on the vehicle, because car thieves know all the good hiding spots for a spare key. Keep your vehicle papers with you and make a set for each driver in the family, instead of leaving them in the glove box. Keep the inside of your car clean and empty. Take your cell phone, music player, and other electronic devices with you when you leave the car, and never leave a purse, briefcase, or closed bag in plain sight while you’re gone.

* Consider buying a car alarm or other vehicle protection device to save yourself the time and expense of dealing with the theft of your vehicle.

If you don’t have a lot of money to spend, the basic “Club” type of steering wheel lock gets good reviews by law enforcement officials and provides a visual deterrent to theft. Brake pedal locks can accomplish the same thing.

The popularity of car alarms is testimony to their effectiveness, and every year they get better. The latest improvements in vehicle security technology consist of highly efficient sensors that detect signs of theft like changes in air pressure, telltale sounds like shattering glass, and changes in elevation from front to rear or side to side. Thieves who jack up your car to remove the wheels or use a tow vehicle to steal your car now have less chance of success. Even the basic alarm consisting of a pressure switch on each door hooked to a siren or the car’s horn can go a long way toward chasing off the would-be car thief.

Immobilizing devices, also known as kill switches, work by disabling vital components necessary to start your car, such as the fuel pump or the battery circuit. Radiofrequency identification devices (RFIDs) only allow your car to start if you use an ignition key that emits an electronic signal.

Tracking devices can use either the cars onboard GPS system or radiofrequency technology to track your cars whereabouts after its stolen and increase your chances of getting it back. Some insurance companies offer their customers discounts on tracking devices as well as a premium discount for using these technologies.

Certain vehicles are frequent targets for car thieves, especially high-end sport utility vehicles. The Cadillac Escalade and the Hummer were featured last year in an ABC News article on the most stolen cars in the U.S. Models among the least likely to be stolen are the Mercedes E Class, Buick Rainier and Subaru Forester.

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