Bill toughens theft penalties

OLYMPIA – Trying to curtail auto thefts that last year totaled roughly 40,000 statewide, Washington lawmakers have voted to toughen the penalties.

“Currently, (adults) don’t go to prison until your seventh conviction for auto theft,” said Don Pierce, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. “After this bill, you’ll go to prison after your third conviction.”

Even first-offense juveniles would face the prospect of a mandatory five days home detention, 45 hours of community service and a $200 fine.

“We want to go after the repeat offenders and say, ‘Enough’s enough,’ ” said Pierce, whose group lobbied for the bill. “With juveniles, we want to get their attention with the very first car they steal.”

Juveniles also would face a mandatory assessment to see if other factors – drug or alcohol use, family problems – are contributing to their behavior. The bill also targets adults who solicit minors to steal vehicles for them.

The measure, House Bill 1001, was named after Elizabeth Nowak, a rookie Seattle police officer whose car was broadsided by a 30-year-old chronic car thief speeding in a stolen Honda. Both died.

Pierce said King County and the Yakima area are among the nation’s worst areas for auto theft.

The bill’s next stop is the desk of Gov. Chris Gregoire. Pierce said the bill’s supporters have had no indication that the governor – the state’s former three-term attorney general – opposes the bill.

The bill also sets up a program to channel state grants to law enforcement agencies, particularly those who do regional enforcement. The money could help pay for things like “bait cars” for police to attract auto thieves, regional auto theft task forces or more prosecutors for car-theft cases, Pierce said.

The bill also attempts to close a legal loophole that allows many car thieves to avoid prison even after being caught many times. The crime is often pleaded down to a second-degree vehicle prowl, Pierce said. Under the new bill, that crime would count as a “strike” toward the mandatory prison sentence.