When Parking Your Vehicle and Exiting:

Park in a well-lit, attended lot or area if possible.
If lot or area is attended, leave attendant only the ignition/door key.

Accomplishments

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

Throughout Texas, ABTPA task forces have continued to reduce vehicle theft rates and educate the public through the Watch Your Car program.  Vehicle theft investigations have included U-Haul truck recoveries in Dallas, airplanes in Mexico, marine crafts in Galveston/Houston, multiple U.S. stolen recoveries in Guatamala, and stolen tractor-trailers found in Lubbock and traced to North Dakota and British Columbia.   Task force investigators recover stolen vehicles and parts, monitor salvage operations, coordinate bait car operations, follow up on fraudulent insurance claims, and work with other law enforcement officials on crimes committed in conjunction with the theft and burglary of vehicles.  Mexico and ABTPA task forces have partnered to work surveillance at points of entry such as Del Rio, Laredo, Eagle Pass, El Paso and Brownsville.  Training of fellow officers and the general public regarding the best means of protecting vehicles from theft and burglary is an ongoing priority.  In addition, the 1-800-CAR-WATCH hotline has handled thousands of calls inspired by heightened public awareness generated with the Watch Your Car program inception in 1995.

In 1998, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) awarded the Tarrant County Auto Theft Task Force its "Vehicle Theft Award of Merit" for the second time in three years.  The Reduce Auto Theft in Texas (RATT) grant received an honorable mention in this IACP awards ceremony.  In 1999, the El Paso Auto Theft Prevention Task Force was honored with the "Vehicle Theft Award of Merit ." The Midessa Auto Theft Task Force won the same award in 2004, as did the Corpus Christi Auto Theft Task Force in 2005 and the Reduce Auto Theft in Texas (RATT) grant in 2006.

RATT was recognized by the Texas Crime Prevention Association as the "Outstanding Crime Prevention Program" for 1998 and by the Texas Chisholm Trail Crime Prevention Association as the "Agency of the Year" in 2006, 2007 and 2010.  RATT also received national recognition in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2007 as a "National Night Out All-Star Award" winner through the National Association of Town Watch.   In addition, RATT personnel were selected to present auto theft prevention programs for three consecutive years at the National Youth Crime Prevention Conference.  RATT staff has also been awarded individual awards from the Texas Crime Prevention Association, the Texas Chisholm Trail Crime Prevention Association, the North Texas Crime Prevention Association, the Texas ABTPA, the Texas Association of Vehicle Theft Investigators, and the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators.