Car thieves made off with more vehicles in the Columbus/Phenix City area than any other part of the state, according to recent state insurance statistics. This goes against a national trend, the National Insurance Crime Bureau reports.
1,911 vehicles were stolen in Columbus, a spike from the previous year's 1,714 in 2005 and 1,455 in 2004.
A local police official told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer that the force lacked sufficient personnel to handle the steadily increasing caseload. He also noted what he termed a “Mayberry” small town mindset, and that residents were lax on anti-theft awareness.
