When Entering Your Vehicle and Driving:

Have your key ready to enter the vehicle, and check around and inside before getting in. Drive with doors locked and windows up.

About Us

Reduce Auto Theft In Texas (RATT) / Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA)

The Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA) was established by the 72nd Legislature in June 1991 as the Texas Automobile Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA) to create a statewide effort aimed at reducing vehicle theft. In 2007, the agency was recreated by the 80th Texas Legislature as the Texas Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA) to include emphasis on addressing vehicle burglary. The Governor of Texas appoints seven individuals to serve as the ABTPA board, including two law enforcement representatives, two consumer representatives, two representatives of automobile insurance companies providing coverage in Texas, and the executive director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, who serves ex-officio. The board administers the ABTPA general fund and oversees the operation of the program. ABTPA is based in Austin and housed under the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TX DMV). ABTPA functions as its own entity, but utilizes the assistance of the TX DMV and TxDOT to carry out decisions made by the board.

ABTPA funds are distributed through the grant process, and eligible organizations and agencies make application for funding to the ABTPA board on an annual basis. For fiscal year 2011, $13.390 million was awarded to 28 grants. Twenty-four of these task forces are law enforcement/detection/apprehension projects, one is a public awareness/education project, one focuses on the recovery of vehicles from Mexico, one focuses on the elimination of fraudulent titles, and one provides the latest vehicle crimes training to Texas law enforcement officers.

Two ABTPA projects have been innovators in controlling auto theft between Texas and Mexico.  The binational Border Solutions Committee, established in August 1992, has been extremely active in fostering communications with officials in Mexico as well as planning and developing strategies for specialized auto theft prevention efforts for the Texas/Mexico border area. The Border Auto Theft Information Center (BATIC) was established in September 1993 to answer inquiries about stolen vehicles for authorized law enforcement agencies in the United States and Mexico. This program, the first of its kind in the world, has joined forces with the National Insurance Crime Bureau and recovers over 1,500 stolen vehicles annually.