Mission Statement

The Montgomery County Police Centralized Auto Theft Section was established in 1995 in order to combat the problem of auto theft within Montgomery County. The unit was created with a grant from the Maryland Vehicle Theft Prevention Council . The Auto Theft Unit is an investigative section of the Montgomery County Police Department and is currently responsible for all stolen vehicles and follow-ups.

The Centralized Auto Theft Section is composed of investigators and crime prevention specialists who are trained auto theft enforcement experts. Every year our investigators attend specialized auto theft enforcement schools and provide auto theft enforcement training to our patrol officers as well as officers from other Police Departments in the region.

Crime Analysis, Evidence Collection, and Theft Prevention are three important components of our unit. We currently maintain a large database which we use to analyze auto theft data and formulate enforcement and prevention strategies. Our evidence technician has 20 years of experience in this field and travels the region processing Montgomery County's stolen/recovered vehicles. In the area of prevention, we have taken an aggressive approach toward reaching out to the citizens of the County. Every year, Detectives visit community associations, businesses, public service organizations, and crime prevention fairs speaking about auto theft prevention and demonstrating prevention devices.

The Montgomery County States Attorney's Office is also an important partner in our efforts to reduce auto theft. With funds from a state grant, a Montgomery County State Attorney has been selected to prosecute auto theft arrests exclusively. This focus on auto theft offenders is intended to result in stricter sentencing for repeat offenders.

Since the creation of the Centralized Auto Theft Section in 1995, auto theft has steadily declined in Montgomery County. Our goal is to reduce auto theft through proactive enforcement, prevention and prosecutorial strategies.