Austin, Travis County Get Grants To Prevent Vehicle Crime

AUSTIN, TX — The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority awarded grants to several communities — including Austin and Travis County — to help prevent and reduce statewide motor vehicle crime.

The grants support local law enforcement efforts to prevent Texas residents from experiencing more than $1 billion in losses caused each year from motor vehicle crime. The grant recipients are:

• City of Austin: $414,319
• City of Beaumont: $508,623
• City of Brownsville: $889,225
• Burnet County: $192,400
• City of Corpus Christi: $395,356
• City of Dallas: $601,250
• Dallas County: $519,480
• City of Eagle Pass: $120,250
• City of El Paso: $894,145
• Galveston County: $451,354
• Harris County: $743,052
• City of Houston: $957,190
• City of Laredo: $658,970
• Lubbock County: $389,151
• City of Mansfield: $288,600
• Montgomery County: $324,640
• City of Paris: $102,654
• City of Pasadena: $73,112
• Potter County: $347,960
• City of San Antonio: $769,600
• Smith County: $320,146
• Tarrant County: $1,101,971
• Travis County: $607,154
• City of Victoria: $148,840
• Total: $11,819,442

These agencies collaborate regionally and with each other to establish evidence based, strategy driven and community focused solutions networks, officials noted. They improve coordination, deploy equipment and provide clear messaging to community groups to end motor vehicle crime across Texas," officials added.

“With these grants, local communities can respond in a coordinated effort to solve statewide motor vehicle crime,” Laredo Assistant Chief of Police Mike Rodriguez said in a prepared statement.

The task forces recovered more than 11,000 vehicles in fiscal year 2019, made thousands of arrests and distributed materials and messages to their communities to help remind people to lock their cars, according to an emailed advisory. Based on state data, there are nearly 200,000 motor vehicle burglaries and more than 67,000 stolen vehicles every year.

The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, a division of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, funds local law enforcement taskforces across the state every year. The funds come from a $4 fee that MVCPA collects from motor vehicle insurance companies. A large part of the fee collected also supports emergency rooms and trauma centers throughout Texas.

The Texas Legislature established MVCPA in 1991 to create a statewide effort to reduce auto theft. The Authority is comprised of governor-appointed members from insurers, law enforcement and the public along with a designee from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

For more information about how to protect yourself from motor vehicle crime, visit MVCPA online at www.txdmv.gov/motorists/consumer-protection/auto-theft-prevention.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles registers and titles motor vehicles, licenses motor vehicle dealers, credentials motor carriers, issues oversize/overweight permits, investigates complaints against dealers and motor carriers, and awards grants to law enforcement agencies to reduce vehicle burglaries and thefts.

Learn more at www.TxDMV.gov.