Justin Stoltzfus

A 20 year anti-crime initiative in Texas may be discontinued in 2011. Even though the move would reduce the state's spending, it could end up costing drivers in the form of increased theft -- and higher auto insurance premiums.

The Lone Star State's Auto Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority (ABTPA) was created in 1991 to help curb auto theft. In an effort to control state budget shortfalls, initial budget proposals from the state House and Senate have removed the agency's funding.

The ABTPA has reduced auto theft in Texas by about 60 percent since it was founded, according to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. The agency does this by providing grants to local police officers. The program also operates education programs for law enforcement, focusing on counties with the highest crime rates and the hours of the night when car thieves like to operate.

The ABTPA even has helped with the kinds of car theft that are unique to border states like Texas. Thieves who steal a car near the border can drive it out of the jurisdiction of U.S. law enforcement within minutes, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. The ABTA Border Auto Theft Information Center helps recover stolen vehicles from Mexico, and a Border Partners program aids law enforcement collaboration in urban border areas like El Paso/Juarez.

Even though lawmakers have proposed cutting the program to fill holes in the state's budget, they still want the money that ABTPA brings in. The ABTPA is funded by an annual $1 fee paid by each insured driver. With the proposed changes, the state's drivers would keep on paying those dollars automatically through their insurance policies without getting the benefits of the anti-theft agency.

Proponents of disbanding the ABTPA point out that, in diverting the funds for other budget appropriations, Texas wouldn't be acting without precedent. Other governments have done the same thing to keep their financial boats afloat in tough economic times.
But the move faces criticism by some state legislators as well as the Insurance Council of Texas. Apart from the idea that residents shouldn't have to keep paying for a defunct program, officials worry about other consequences of taking away the agency. Without the grant money the ABTA distributes, Texas will lose police jobs, some officials say. And without the anti-crime measures, drivers could see higher Texas auto insurance rates if auto theft begins to rise back to pre-ABTPA levels.