One challenge presented to residents who live along the U.S./Mexico border is keeping their vehicle out of the hands of criminals.
"This is a high volume area for motor vehicle thefts--just because of our proximity to the River and what they're being used for,” Sergeant Rolando Garcia said. “Many of them are being used to smuggle narcotics and humans across the border."
The Texas Auto Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority released statistics for 2012.
Pickup trucks took the top spots—while SUV’s fall toward the bottom of the list.
The Ford F-150 tops the list as the most stolen vehicle in Texas.
The complete top ten list of 2012 most stolen passenger vehicles in Texas includes:
1) Ford Pickup
2) Chevrolet Pickup
3) Dodge Pickup
4) Honda Civic
5) Chevrolet Tahoe
6) Honda Accord
7) GMC Pickup
8) Chevrolet Impala
9) Toyota Camry
10) Ford Taurus
Seeing this growing problem---San Juan police started an auto theft taskforce.
It is a full-time position and is dedicated to not only recovering these stolen vehicle but prevent them from being stolen in the first place.
"It's working for us,” Garcia said. “We've seen a steady decrease in the number of auto thefts that we've had here in town."
Since they formed the taskforce in 2010, Sergeant Garcia said vehicle thefts have gone from 110 to 65 per year.
A number they hope to get even lower.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT