San Francisco Bay Area Has Greatest Risk For Car Theft

The San Francisco Bay area had the highest rate of auto thefts in the nation last year for the first time, as California continued to lead the U.S. in stolen cars per person. The region was first among “hot spots” for thefts in 2014, climbing from fourth in 2013, the National Insurance Crime Bureau said in a report. The Bakersfield and Stockton-Lodi areas in California came in second and third. California was home to seven of the top 10 hot spots. “California is the auto-theft capital of the world,” Frank Scafidi, a Sacramento-based spokesman for the NICB, said in a phone interview Tuesday.