California leads in vehicle thefts DES PLAINES, Ill., July 15 (UPI) -- The top areas for automobile theft are Fresno, Calif.; Modesto, Calif. and Bakersfield-Delano, Calif., a non-profit group fighting auto crime and theft said. The National Insurance Crime Bureau reported preliminary numbers for 2011 were on track for another consecutive year of declining vehicle thefts. Four of the top 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas reported more thefts in 2011 -- 925 collectively, while the remaining six posted fewer -- 2,017 fewer thefts collectively. Metropolitan Statistical Areas are designated by the federal government's Office of Management and Budget and often include areas much larger than the cities for which they are named. For example, the Fresno, Calif., Metropolitan Statistical Areas includes all thefts within the entire county of Fresno, not just the city of Fresno. The report is based on vehicle thefts on a per capita basis. An area with a much smaller population and a moderate number of thefts can -- and often does -- have a higher theft rate than an area with a much more significant vehicle theft problem and a larger population, officials of the National Insurance Crime Bureau said. For 2011, the rest of the 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas with the highest vehicle theft rates were: Spokane, Wash.; Yakima, Wash.; San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont, Calif.; Stockton, Calif.; Anderson, S.C.; Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif.; and Visalia-Porterville, Calif.