Motor Vehicle Theft

UCR Definition


The Florida Unifrom Crime Reports program defines Motor vehicle theft as the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. In the UCR Program, a motor vehicle is a self-propelled vehicle that runs on land surfaces and not on rails. The following vehicles are considered motor vehicles.
  • Sport utility vehicles
  • Automobiles
  • Trucks
  • Buses
  • Motorcycles
  • Motor scooters
  • All-terrain vehicles
  • Snowmobiles
The following items are not considered motor vehicles.
  • Farm equipment
  • Bulldozers
  • Airplanes
  • Construction equipment
  • Water craft such as motorboats, sailboats, houseboats, or jet skis
The taking of a motor vehicle for temporary use by persons having lawful access is excluded from this definition. The UCR Manual contains more information about these definitions.

Florida Statutes 


812.014(2)(c)6  Theft of a Motor Vehicle
 

Summary


Florida had 41,119 UCR motor vehicle theft offenses reported in 2018.  

There were a total of 8,301 arrests for motor vehicle theft reported to the Florida UCR program. Of these arrests, 2,210 were juveniles and 6,091 were adults.


UCR Offense Data  Officer with offense report

41,119 motor vehicle thefts in 2018

Source: 2018 Crime in Florida Report Abstract (PDF)

2018 motor vehicle theft offenses by type. 25,818 auto. 8,492 bus or truck. 4,204 motorcycle. 2,605 other vehicles.

Source: Motor Vehicle Theft by Type, 1996-2018 (Excel)

Math Icon Information about calculating Percent Change, Crime Rates, and Clearance Rates


UCR Arrest Data  Handcuffs

8,301 motor vehicle arrests in 2018
Source: County and Municipal Arrest Data, 2018 (PDF | Excel)

2018 Motor vehicle theft arrests by age and sex. 1,923 juvenile males. 287 juvenile females. 4,872 adult males. 1,219 adult females.
Source: Arrests by  Age, Sex and Offense for Florida, 2018 (PDF)


2018 motor vehicle theft arrests by judicial circuit.
Source: 2018 Disaggregated Judicial Circuit Arrest Report (PDF | Excel)

To learn more about which counties are in what circuit,
please see the Florida Courts website.  


Historical Data - Trends

Information about the different data sources found on our site.
 
Motor vehicle theft trend graph
Source: Total Index Crime by County, 1989-2018 (Excel)
Total Arrests by County, 1989-2018
   Computerized Criminal History Arrest by Crime Type, 2000-2018 (Excel)
 

UCR books
 
      Crime in Florida: Motor Vehicle Theft Section
    1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
    1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982
    1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
 

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