Date: Regarding: US Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries: 2011 (Public Dissemination) Prepared By: Andrea McLain, Strategic Analyst Introduction Through the year of 2011, there were a total of 6,070 watercraft thefts within the US. Of these thefts, 2,406 (40%) were recovered by May 14 th, 2012, while 3,664 watercrafts (60%) remain at large. This ForeCAST SM Report analyzes the 6,070 watercraft thefts and the corresponding recoveries with information reported to the United States (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation s (FBI) National Crime Information Center (NCIC). There are 3 main sections to this report: The Watercrafts, Geographic Analysis, and Temporal Analysis. The Watercrafts section analyzes the 2011 watercraft thefts and corresponding recoveries by manufacturer, boat type, manufacturer and boat type combined, propulsion type, and boat type and propulsion type combined. The Geographic Analysis section analyzes the 2011 watercraft thefts and corresponding recoveries by state and by city. The Temporal Analysis section analyzes the 2011 watercraft thefts and recoveries by year, month, weekday, and the number of days between the theft date and the recovery date. The report concludes with a summary of the main points and recommendations. Methodology Theft parameters were all watercrafts stolen from January 1 st, 2011 through December 31 st, 2011 in the United States (US) that were reported to NCIC. Corresponding recovery information was also collected from NCIC between 01/01/2011 and 05/14/2012, and included thefts recovered outside of the US. Additionally, the NCIC data for 2011 was edited in the following manner: records were classified as watercrafts when the NCIC file number began with a B, therefore, all records with a file number that did not begin with a B were removed; records with only watercraft parts, such as engines, trailers, etc. were removed; records that did not identify a Hull Identification Number (HIN) were removed; duplicate records, or those with the same HIN and date of theft, were removed; records that included the word Test or Training anywhere in their data fields were removed. NCIC can be considered one of the most reliable and comprehensive sources for watercraft theft and recovery data, as it is a centralized database where local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the US report crime information. Although the source is reliable, many validity issues still arise from inaccuracies or incomplete information within each individual theft record, which bring about limitations in the data. Of all 6,070 thefts in 2011: 15% did not provide a manufacturer name, 49% did not give information on the boat type, and 35% did not provide a propulsion type. To provide the most valuable information to all watercraft theft stakeholders, any Miscellaneous, All Other, or Blank categories were not included in charts, graphs, or any analysis within this report, but all relevant calculations were performed from the premise of 6,070 thefts. Throughout the charts and graphics in this report, with the exception of the maps, Turquoise/Blue relates to theft information, while Green relates to recovery information. Also, all percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number. Additionally, when there is a tie between categories in a Top 10 list, they are listed alphabetically with shared rank numbers, and then the following rank will increase by 2. For example, if there is a tie for rank 3, both will be ranked third, and followed by rank 5.
Top 10 Manufacturers US Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries: 2011 Page 2 of 19 Section 1: The Watercrafts The watercrafts subsections breakdown the 2011 watercraft thefts and corresponding recoveries by the Top 10 manufacturers, the Top 10 boat types, the Top 10 manufacturer and boat type combinations, the 6 propulsion types, and the Top 9 boat type and propulsion type combinations. 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Manufacturer There were 590 different manufacturers identified in the 2011 watercraft theft and recovery data. The following chart lists all manufacturers with 10 or more thefts in descending order from the greatest amount of watercraft thefts to the least, and then includes corresponding recovery information. In the chart, The Top 10 stolen manufacturers are labeled, listed in Bold' font, and separated by a bar. Totaling 2,000 thefts, the Top 10 manufacturers comprise approximately 33% of all 2011 watercraft thefts. The most stolen manufacturer was Yamaha, with 537 thefts, and of the Top 10, Starcraft Marine LLC and Polaris Industries tied for the greatest recovery rate of 46%. The Top 10 manufacturer with the lowest recovery rate was Old Town Canoe Co, as only 19 out of 86 (22%) stolen Old Town Canoe Co watercrafts were recovered. 2011 Watercraft Theft and Corresponding Recoveries by Manufacturer Manufacturer Thefts Recoveries Recovery Rate 1 Manufacturer Thefts Recoveries Recovery Rate Yamaha 537 183 34% Midwest Seat Mfg Co In 20 10 50% Bombardier Corp 522 178 34% Prototype Custom Boats 20 11 55% Kawasaki Motors Mfg 196 71 36% Avon Rubber Co. 19 9 47% Alumacraft Boat Co 148 43 29% Gheen Manufacturing 19 10 53% Bayliner Marine 129 53 41% Hydra-Sports Inc 19 7 37% Starcraft Marine LLC 114 52 46% Achilles Inflatables Craft 18 4 22% Tracker Marine L.P. 102 34 33% Chaparral Boats Inc 18 5 28% Lowe Industries 86 26 30% Stratos Boats Inc 18 12 67% Old Town Canoe Co 86 19 22% Mastercraft Boat Co. 17 9 53% Polaris Ind. 80 37 46% Ouchita Mrne&Ind Corp 17 6 35% Sea Nymph Inc 78 21 27% Crestliner Inc 16 7 44% Sears Roebuck & Company 76 13 17% Sterling Yachts, Inc 16 10 63% Sea Ray Boats, Inc. 72 41 57% Hobie Cat Company 15 7 47% Pelican International Inc 65 26 40% Magna Engineered Systems 15 1 7% Boston Whaler Inc 60 32 53% Maurell Products Inc 15 10 67% Smoker-Craft 60 21 35% Raider Boats 14 11 79% Tracker Seacraft Of Fl 54 26 48% Spectrum 14 3 21% Brunswick Marine Monark 45 20 44% Angler Boat Corp 13 7 54% Lund Boat Division 41 21 51% Champion Boats 13 6 46% Wellcraft Marine Corp 41 26 63% Four Winns (Omc) 13 6 46% Florida Homemade Boats 38 20 53% Jammar Welding 13 5 38% Ranger Boats 37 18 49% Mercury Marine 13 7 54% Polar Kraft Mfg Co 34 13 38% Caterpillar 12 3 25% Landau Boat Co 31 4 13% Ebbtide Corp 12 7 58% Glastron Boats 30 19 63% K L Industries 12 6 50% Fmc Corp. 29 11 38% Key West Boats Inc 12 7 58% Noah Corporation 29 6 21% Reinell Boats, Inc. 12 3 25% 1 All recovery rates throughout this report were calculated by dividing the number of corresponding recoveries by the number of thefts.
Page 3 of 19 Manufacturer Thefts Recoveries Recovery Rate 1 Manufacturer Thefts Recoveries Recovery Rate Ocean Kayak Inc 29 6 21% Schat Watercraft Inc 12 3 25% Grumman Allied Ind Inc 28 13 46% West Marine Products 12 5 42% Perception Kayaks Inc 28 7 25% Alweld Commercial Boats 11 3 27% The Coleman Co Inc 28 6 21% Blue Water Boats Inc 11 6 55% Triton Industries Inc 27 9 33% Contender Boats Inc 11 7 64% Carolina Skiff Inc 26 13 50% Correct Craft Inc 11 5 45% Sylvan Marine 26 13 50% Gregor Boat Company 11 6 55% C & C Manufacturing Inc 25 9 36% Mako Marine Intl Inc 11 5 45% Wilderness Systems 25 5 20% Seastrike Boats 11 6 55% Alumaweld Boats 24 10 42% Aint Perfect Boat Co 10 3 30% AMF Crestliner 24 10 42% American Composites 10 4 40% Zodiac of North America 24 7 29% Bayou Boats 10 6 60% Grumman Boats Inc 23 5 22% Chris Craft 10 1 10% Semperit Industrial Pr 23 6 26% Crownline Boats Inc 10 6 60% Larson Boats 22 12 55% Dagger Canoe Co 10 1 10% Northport Inc 21 7 33% Hondo Boats 10 2 20% Pro Line Boat Company 21 13 62% Mad River Canoe Co Inc 10 3 30% Sierra Boat Co 21 9 43% Sea Fox Boat Company 10 6 60% Skeeter Products 21 11 52% Sea Witch Marine 10 8 80% Godfrey Marine Co 20 12 60% Waco Mfg Inc 10 2 20% (Recoveries: 2011 05/14/2012) 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Boat Type There were 44 different boat types identified in the 2011 watercraft theft and recovery data. The following list ranks the Top 10 stolen boat types with the corresponding recovery information and sample photos 2. Totaling 3,043 thefts, the Top 10 stolen boat types comprise approximately 50% of all 2011 watercraft thefts. The boat type most frequently stolen was the Jet Ski 3, with 1,219 thefts. Of the Top 10, the Hovercraft had the greatest recovery rate, as 11 out of 14 (79%) stolen Hovercrafts were recovered. The Top 10 boat type with the lowest recovery rate was the Utility, as only 149 out of 437 (34%) stolen Utility boats were recovered. For additional information on the Top 10 boat types per theft state, refer to Page 9 of this report. 1. Jet Ski 2011 Thefts: 1,219 Recoveries: 428 Recovery Rate: 35% 2. Runabout 2011 Thefts: 992 Recoveries: 471 Recovery Rate: 47% 2 Sample photos are not of actual stolen watercrafts. All pictures were copied from Google Images to provide just one general example of what each of the Top 10 boat types may look like. 3 For purposes of this report, the term Jet Ski is synonymous with Sea Doo and Wave Runner.
Page 4 of 19 3. Utility 2011 Thefts: 437 Recoveries: 149 Recovery Rate: 34% 4. Cruiser 2011 Thefts: 255 Recoveries: 137 Recovery Rate: 54% 5. Sailboat 2011 Thefts: 60 Recoveries: 36 Recovery Rate: 60% 6. Airboat 2011 Thefts: 23 Recoveries: 16 Recovery Rate: 70%
Page 5 of 19 7. Commercial 2011 Thefts: 21 Recoveries: 13 Recovery Rate: 62% 8. Houseboat 2011 Thefts: 14 Recoveries: 6 Recovery Rate: 43% 9. Hovercraft 2011 Thefts: 14 Recoveries: 11 Recovery Rate: 79% 10. Yacht 2011 Thefts: 8 Recoveries: 4 Recovery Rate: 50%
Page 6 of 19 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Manufacturer and Boat Type Combined There were 668 different combinations of manufacturers and boat types in the 2011 watercraft theft and recovery data. The following graph displays the Top 10 stolen manufacturer and boat type combinations with the corresponding recovery information. Totaling 1,235 thefts, the Top 10 stolen combinations of manufacturers and boat types comprise approximately 20% of all 2011 watercraft thefts. The manufacturer and boat type combination most frequently stolen was the Yamaha - Jet Ski, with 425 thefts. Of the Top 10, the Sea Ray Boats Inc - Runabout had the highest recovery rate, as 14 out of 21 (67%) stolen Sea Ray Boats Inc Runabouts were recovered. The Top 10 manufacturer and boat type combination with the lowest recovery rate was the Alumacraft Boat Co. - Utility, as only 3 out of 23 (13%) stolen Alumacraft Boat Co. - Utility watercrafts were recovered. 2011 Top 10 Stolen Manufacturer and Boat Type Combinations (Recoveries: 2011 05/14/2012)
Page 7 of 19 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Propulsion Type There were 6 different propulsion types recognized in the 2011 watercraft theft and recovery data, and 3,957 theft records (65%) included one of these propulsion types. The following chart details 2011 watercraft theft and recovery information for the 6 propulsion types. Watercrafts with Outboard propulsion were stolen most frequently, with 2,117 thefts. Of the 6 propulsion types, Sail with Auxiliary Inboard Power had the highest recovery rate, as 7 out of 11 (64%) stolen watercrafts with Sail with Auxiliary Inboard Power propulsion were recovered. The propulsion type with the lowest recovery rate was Manual, as only 111 out of 496 (22%) stolen watercrafts with Manual propulsion were recovered. 2011 Watercraft Thefts by Propulsion Type Propulsion Type Thefts Recoveries Recovery Rate Outboard 2,117 938 44% Inboard 1,293 509 39% Manual 496 111 22% Sail Only 35 19 54% Sail with Auxiliary Outboard Power 11 7 64% Sail with Auxiliary Inboard Power 5 4 80% Totals 3,957 1,588 40% (Recoveries: 2011 05/14/2012) 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Boat Type and Propulsion Type Combined There were 47 different combinations of boat types and propulsion types in the 2011 watercraft theft and recovery data. The following chart displays the Top 9 stolen boat type and propulsion type combinations with the corresponding recovery information. Totaling 2,156 thefts, the Top 9 stolen combinations of boat types and propulsion types comprise approximately 36% of all 2011 watercraft thefts. The boat type and propulsion type combination most frequently stolen was the Jet Ski - Inboard, with 692 thefts. Of the Top 9, Sailboat - Sail Only had the highest recovery rate, as 16 out of 27 (59%) of Sailboat - Sail Only thefts were recovered. The Top 9 boat type and propulsion type combination with the lowest recovery rate was the Utility - Manual, as only 3 out of 19 (16%) of Utility - Manual thefts were recovered. 2011 Top 9 Stolen Boat Type and Propulsion Type Combinations Boat Type and Propulsion Type Combined Thefts Recoveries Recovery Rate Jet Ski - Inboard 692 210 30% Runabout - Outboard 628 296 47% Utility - Outboard 280 102 36% Runabout - Inboard 223 108 48% Cruiser - Outboard 114 56 49% Cruiser - Inboard 103 57 55% Jet Ski - Outboard 51 26 51% Sailboat - Sail Only 27 16 59% Utility - Inboard 19 7 37% Utility - Manual 19 3 16% Totals 2,156 881 41% (Recoveries: 2011 05/14/2012)
Top 10 Theft States US Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries: 2011 Page 8 of 19 Section 2: Geographic Analysis The first Geographic Analysis subsection analyzes the 2011 watercraft thefts and corresponding recoveries by state, which is separated into 3 parts: the 2011 watercraft thefts and corresponding recoveries by all theft states, including Washington DC (DC); the 2011 watercraft thefts per state by the Top 10 boat types; and geographic patterns where the recovery state, including Puerto Rico (PR), differed from the theft state. The final Geographic Analysis subsection lists the 2011 watercraft thefts and corresponding recoveries for the Top 10 theft cities. 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by State All 6,070 2011 watercraft thefts reported a theft state, while 2,262 out of 2,404 recoveries (94%) reported a recovery state. With the exception of Hawaii, a watercraft theft occurred in every state, including DC. The following chart lists the US states in descending order from the greatest amount of watercraft thefts to the least, and then includes corresponding recovery information 4 for all recovered watercrafts stolen from that state. In the chart, The Top 10 theft states are labeled, listed in Bold' font, and separated by a bar. Totaling 3,639 thefts, the Top 10 theft states comprise approximately 60% of all 2011 watercraft thefts. The state with the greatest amount of stolen watercrafts was FL, with 1,322 thefts. Of the Top 10 theft states, WA had greatest recovery rate, as 111 out of 224 (48%) watercrafts stolen from WA were recovered. With a recovery rate of 34%, MI and TN tied as the Top 10 theft state with the lowest recovery rate. 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Corresponding Recoveries (2011 05/14/2012) by Theft State State Thefts Recoveries Recovery Rate State Thefts Recoveries Recovery Rate FL 1,322 498 38% MS 73 28 38% CA 550 265 48% ME 65 24 37% TX 437 175 40% KY 60 23 38% WA 224 111 50% KS 48 20 42% NC 205 72 35% MA 39 17 44% MI 186 63 34% NV 38 25 66% GA 182 74 41% CO 37 15 41% TN 181 62 34% CT 36 11 31% AL 177 66 37% UT 36 19 53% SC 175 65 37% IA 32 8 25% LA 172 62 36% NE 28 17 61% MN 158 63 40% NH 21 10 48% AR 150 42 28% WV 20 8 40% MO 125 50 40% RI 18 6 33% AZ 121 50 41% ID 17 9 53% IN 116 44 38% NM 16 6 38% OH 115 47 41% AK 13 6 46% OK 111 44 40% VT 12 4 33% WI 111 40 36% MT 10 7 70% NY 104 44 42% DE 8 5 63% IL 95 22 23% ND 5 2 40% PA 89 28 31% DC 4 2 50% OR 85 46 54% SD 4 2 50% MD 83 38 46% WY 2 2 100% VA 79 31 39% HI 0 0 NA NJ 75 26 35% Totals 6,070 2,404 40% 4 The recovery information for this section corresponds to the thefts per state, as to provide accurate recovery rates. If a watercraft was recovered in a state different than where it was stolen, it was still counted in the recovery information for the theft state as opposed to the recovery state.
Page 9 of 19 The following chart alphabetically lists each theft state with the number of thefts categorized by the Top 10 boat types. The boat type and state with the most thefts was highlighted in yellow, and an asterisk was used to denote a tie between states. FL was the state with the most thefts for Jet Skis (339), Runabouts (148), Cruisers (66), Airboats (17), and Commercial boats (9). TX had the most thefts for Utility boats (47) and Houseboats (3). The greatest number Sailboats (16) were stolen in CA. Additionally, CA and FL tied with the greatest amount of Yacht thefts (3). The information in this chart is visually displayed in a US map on the following page. 2011 Watercraft Thefts per State by the Top 10 Boat Types State Jet Ski Runabout Utility Cruiser Sailboat Airboat Commercial Houseboat Hovercraft Yacht AK 4 6 - - - - - - - - AL 30 40 5 4 2 - - 1 - - AR 33 23 13 2 - - - - - - AZ 39 38 9 5 2 - - 1 - - CA 126 109 18 57 16-5 1 *3 CO 11 2-1 - 1 - - - - CT 4 1 1 - - - - - - - DC 3 - - - - - - - - - DE 1 2 2 - - 1 - - - - FL 339 148 30 66 12 17 9 1 - *3 GA 44 18 16 10 - - - - - - IA 1 6 5 2 - - - 1 - - ID 3 2 2 1 - - - - - - IL - 12-5 1 - - - - - IN 16 9 8 - - - - 1 - - KS 23 4 4 1 - - - - - - KY 13 6 11 1 1 - - - - - LA 15 38 35 1 1 1 1 - - - MA 4 7 2 3 - - - - - - MD 15 19 6 4 2 - - - - - ME 2 6 3 1 - - 1 - - - MI 52 16 15 13 1-1 1 - - MN 10 59 6 1 2 - - - - - MO 20 18 29 3 - - - - - - MS 8 21 13 3 1 - - - - - NC 36 35 37 11 6-1 1 1 - ND - 1 - - - - - - - - NE 7 7 2-1 - - - - - NH - 2 2 1 - - - - - - NJ 16 3 2 5 1 - - 1 - - NM 4 2-3 - - - - - - NV 3 9 1 4 - - - - - - NY 13 16 8 2-1 - - - 1 OH 23 3 4 6 - - - - - - OK 30 12 14 8 2-1 2 - - OR 14 11 7 2 1 1 - - - - PA 6 10 10 1 - - - - - 1 RI 2 2 2 - - - - - - - SC 34 23 15 5 1 1 - - - - SD - 1 - - - - - - - - TN 32 32 19 4 1 - - - - - TX 115 74 47 15 2-1 3 - - UT 9 4 5 - - - - - 2 - VA 9 6 5 2 1-1 1 - - VT - 2 - - - - - - - - WA 30 111 5 2 1 - - - 10 - WI 16 15 18-2 - - - - - WV 3 1 1 - - - - - - - WY 1 - - - - - - - - - Totals 1219 992 437 255 60 23 21 14 14 8
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Page 11 of 19 July 16, 2012 According to the 2,262 records that provided both a theft state and a recovery state, 2,219 watercrafts were recovered in the same state they were stolen from, while 43 were recovered in a state different than where they were stolen. In instances where the recovery state differed from the theft state, there were 29 different combinations of theft states and recovery states identified. PR reported 7 recoveries of watercrafts that were stolen throughout different US states: 4 from ME, 1 from MD, 1 from MO, and 1 from TN. No additional significant patterns were identified within the 29 combinations of recovery states that differed from the theft state. 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Theft City Exactly 6,067 records out of 6,070 watercraft thefts (just under 100%) reported a theft city, while 2,252 records out of 2,406 recoveries (94%) reported a recovery city. There were 2,014 different theft cities identified in the 2011 watercraft theft and recovery data. Totaling 590 thefts, the Top 10 theft cities comprise approximately 10% of all 2011 watercraft thefts. The theft city with the greatest amount of stolen watercrafts was Miami, FL, with 210 thefts. Of the Top 10 theft cities, Fort Lauderdale, FL had the highest recovery rate, as 35 out of 59 (59%) watercrafts stolen from Fort Lauderdale, FL were recovered. The Top 10 theft city with the lowest recovery rate was Hialeah, FL, as only 6 out of 35 (17%) of watercrafts stolen from Hialeah, FL were recovered. Additionally, 6 of the Top 10 theft cities were located in Florida, including the first 4. The following chart displays the number of watercraft thefts with the corresponding recovery information 5 for the Top 10 theft cities. Theft rates 6 were also included for the Top 10 watercraft theft cities. The theft city with the highest theft rate was Marathon, FL, as the number of 2011 watercraft thefts per 1,000 inhabitants was 6.03. The theft rate in Marathon, FL is significantly higher than the remaining Top 10 theft cities, and may be considered a watercraft theft hotspot. The second highest theft rate was 0.53 per 1,000 inhabitants in Miami, FL. Houston, TX and Phoenix, AZ tied with the lowest theft rate of 0.02 per 1,000 inhabitants. 2011 Watercraft Theft and Recoveries: Top 10 Theft Cities City, State Thefts Recoveries Recovery Rate Theft Rate Miami, FL 210 59 28% 0.53 Fort Lauderdale, FL 59 35 59% 0.36 Marathon, FL 50 25 50% 6.03 Tampa, FL 48 10 21% 0.14 Houston, TX 41 8 20% 0.02 Sacramento, CA 40 20 50% 0.09 Seattle, WA 40 21 53% 0.07 Hialeah, FL 35 6 17% 0.16 Phoenix, AZ 34 12 35% 0.02 West Palm Beach, FL 33 12 36% 0.33 (Recoveries: 2011 05/14/2012) The following pages contain 2 US maps for comparative purposes; the first map displays theft states and theft cities, while the next displays recovery states and recovery cities. The recovery map displays all recoveries per state and per city regardless of the theft location, and is therefore not corresponding to the amount of thefts per state and per city. For both maps, the states are color coded in 6 ranges of watercraft thefts or recoveries set by natural breaks (Jenks). The cities are categorized in 4 ranges, also set by natural breaks, but the ranges are differentiated by increasing sizes as opposed to color. 5 The recovery information for this section corresponds to the thefts per city, as to provide accurate recovery rates. If a watercraft was recovered in a city different than where it was stolen, it was counted in the recovery information for the theft city. 6 Watercraft theft rates by city were calculated by dividing the number of thefts within a city by the cities population and then multiplying that result by 1,000. The result was rounded to the nearest hundredth, or 2 decimal places. Population per city was retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/, which used data from the 2010 US census.
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Page 13 of 19 July 16, 2012 (Recoveries: 2011 05/14/2012)
Page 14 of 19 July 16, 2012 Section 3: Temporal Analysis The first Temporal Analysis subsection compares the 2011 watercraft thefts and recoveries to the years of 2009 and 2010. The next 2 subsections breakdown the 2011 watercraft thefts and recoveries by all 12 months in 2011, and by 2011 averages for all 7 weekdays. Then, the last subsection analyzes the number of watercraft thefts recovered within 9 days of the theft date, and then the average number of days between watercraft theft dates and the corresponding recovery dates per state and geographic region. 2009-2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Year NICB s Watercraft Theft Report: 2009 through May 2011 by Strategic Analyst Erin Dugan also used the exact same data cleaning methods on NCIC watercraft theft and recovery records, and is thus comparable to the 2011 7 data of this report. The following graph uses the 2009 and 2010 watercraft theft and recovery information from this previous report to provide a 3 year trend analysis on watercraft thefts and recoveries from 2009, 2010, and 2011. Throughout these last 3 years, watercraft thefts, corresponding recoveries, and the recovery rate have been steadily declining. The number of watercraft thefts decreased by 10% between 2009 and 2010, and 9% between 2010 and 2011. But, the number of watercraft recoveries declined in greater amounts, as recoveries decreased by 18% between 2009 and 2010, and 17% between 2010 and 2011. Watercraft Thefts and Corresponding Recoveries by Year: 2009, 2010, and 2011 7 To be equally comparable to the recovery data of 2009 and 2010, the 2011 corresponding recoveries were only counted through December 31 st, 2011.
Page 15 of 19 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Month The following graph displays the amount of watercraft thefts and recoveries for every month in 2011. The percentage change is also labeled in between each month for both thefts and recoveries. Watercraft thefts formed a bell curve shape that reached its highest peak in June, with 792 thefts. The greatest increase in watercraft thefts was +41% between February and March, and thefts continued to increase from February through June. After the peak in June, watercraft thefts steadily decreased through the remainder of the year, and the greatest decrease was -31% between September and October. August was the month with the greatest amount of recoveries, with 303. The greatest increase in watercraft recoveries was +58% between May and June, while the greatest decrease was -26% between August and September. Also, with 281 thefts and 129 recoveries, December is the month with the lowest amount of thefts, and tied with February for the lowest amount of recoveries. 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Month 8-2% +25-10% -18% +35% -14% Thefts +13% -31% +41% -3% +1% +2% -17% -9% +9% +45% -10% +58% -26% -14% -16% -20% Recoveries 8 This graph does not display watercraft recovery information after December 31 st, 2011.
Page 16 of 19 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Weekday The following graph displays the average amount of watercraft thefts and recoveries per weekday 9 in 2011. The greatest amount of watercraft thefts occurred on Friday, with an average of 940 thefts, followed by Saturday, with an average of 917 thefts. Wednesday had the lowest amount of watercraft thefts, with an average of 809. The greatest amount of watercraft recoveries occurred on Wednesday, with an average of 417 recoveries, followed by Monday, with an average of 400 recoveries. Although Saturday was the 2 nd top weekday for watercraft thefts, it had the lowest amount of recoveries with an average of 228. The Average Number of 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries by Weekday (Recoveries: 2011 05/14/2012) 9 This information may be skewed as some records likely provide the reported theft date opposed to the actual theft date.
Page 17 of 19 2011 Watercraft Thefts and Recoveries: Analysis of the Number of Days Between Theft Date and Recovery Date The following chart displays the number of watercraft thefts that were recovered within 9 days after the date of theft. A column for the total percentage recovered was also included by dividing the number of stolen watercrafts by the total amount of recoveries, 2,406. The total number of stolen watercrafts that were recovered within 9 days was 1,220, or approximately 51% of all recoveries. With a count of 302 watercrafts, 0 days, or same day recovery, was the most common. The Number of Watercraft Thefts Recovered Within 9 Days Number of Days to Recovery Number of Stolen Watercrafts Total Percentage Recovered 0 302 13% 1 265 11% 2 170 7% 3 118 5% 4 100 4% 5 54 2% 6 70 3% 7 53 2% 8 50 2% 9 38 2% Totals 1,220 51% (Recoveries: 2011 05/14/2012) The map on the following page displays the average number of days between a watercraft theft date and the corresponding recovery date by state. As only averages for corresponding recoveries per state were calculated, records where the recovery state differed from the theft state were removed from analysis. The states are separated and color coded by the 5 basic US geographic regions as defined by US K-12 Social Studies/Geography curriculum 10 : Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West, and Southwest. The averages per region were also calculated from the individual NCIC records, and are listed next to the region name. The region with the shortest average number of days between the theft date and recovery date was the Northeast with an average of 33 days. The Midwest and the Southwest tied at an average of 55 days as the regions with the longest number of days to recovery. 10 Web resources that were used to define the 5 US geographic regions include: http://www.nashua.edu/novakc/regions/region.htm http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/multimedia/united-states-regions/?ar_a=1&ar_r=999 http://cg043.k12.sd.us/regions%20of%20the%20us%20webquest/regions_of_the_united_states_web.htm
Page 18 of 19 July 16, 2012 (Recoveries: 2011 05/14/2012)
Page 19 of 19 July 16, 2012 Conclusion Based on the findings of this report, the watercraft most likely to be stolen is a Yamaha Jet Ski with inboard propulsion; 164 thefts have this combination of manufacturer, boat type, and propulsion type. Twenty-two percent (22%) of all 2011 watercraft thefts occurred in FL, followed by CA with 9%, and TX with 7%. The Top 3 theft cities were all from FL: Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Marathon. Marathon, FL is a potential watercraft hotspot, with a theft rate of 6.03 per 1,000 inhabitants. Also, approximately 37% of all 2011 watercraft thefts occurred during the months of June, July, and August. Based upon the number of stolen watercrafts recovered by May 14 th, 2012, there is a 40% chance of recovery. Of the 2,406 recoveries, approximately 92% were recovered in the same theft state. Also, approximately 51% of all watercraft recoveries were recovered within 9 days after the theft date. Another key point from this ForeCAST is that watercraft recoveries have been decreasing over time at a faster pace than watercraft thefts; from 2009 through 2011, watercraft thefts decreased 19% while the number of recoveries decreased 32%. It is a common trend for crimes against property, specifically consumer products, to decrease when the economy is slow 11, so it is therefore anticipated that watercraft thefts will continue to gradually decline until markets improve and watercraft sales increase. When the economy rises it is then foreseeable that watercraft thefts will also increase, and recovery capabilities may become an area of concern. In the furtherance of watercraft theft awareness and prevention, NICB brochure Boat Theft: Leave Thieves in Your Wake suggests that boat owners should use a common sense approach to protect their watercrafts. The suggested prevention methods tell boat owners to: dock your craft in well-lit areas; secure your boat to the dock with a locked steel cable; remove expensive equipment from your boat when not in use; lock the boat s cabin, doors, and windows when not in use; remove registration or title papers in the craft; disable the boat when not in use by shutting off fuel lines and removing the battery or distributor cap; install an alarm system and a kill switch in the ignition system; use a trailer hitch lock after parking a boat on its trailer; park your trailer in a locked garage, secured boat storage facility, or a well-lit, fenced area; ensure your marine insurance policy includes your equipment, boat, and trailer. Also, to be prepared for the possibility of a watercraft theft, NICB encourages boat owners to take photos of their boat, and to be sure that their boat and equipment are marked with a HIN, a 12 character serial number that uniquely identifies every boat and will ultimately help law enforcement with recovery efforts. 11 This fact can be further supported by the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). According to the overview of the 2010 UCR report on property crime, located at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/property-crime, property crime decreased 9.3% between 2006 and 2010.