The Laramie Republican

MANY CARS LOST THROUGH CARELESSNESS

A comprehensive report of auto thefts for the last year just issued by the theft bureau of the Automobile club of southern California shows that year by year there are more cars being stolen. In southern California during 1922 there were nearly $3,000,000 worth of automobiles taken by thief gangs. It is believed that this tremendous activity is conducted by professional groups of thieves organized on a commercial basis. An investigation of the facts relating to the theft of each automobile shows that in most instances the car was stolen because the owner failed to lock it or even left the keys in the lock. Such carelessness as this encourages the stealing of machines, say the authorities. Although the greatest number of cars stolen have been recovered, great difficulty has been experienced in getting them back because the owners could not give proper information to the detectives in identifying their property, even failing to know their own license or engine numbers.