Title: The Watch Your Car Program.
Series: BJA Fact Sheet
Author: Bureau of Justice Assistance
Subject: crime prevention, vehicles
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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Assistance

Bureau of Justice Assistance
Nancy E. Gist
Director 

The Watch Your Car Program

What Is the Watch Your Car Program?

Under the Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act (MVTPA) of 1994, the
U.S. Attorney General has established--through the Bureau of Justice
Assistance (BJA) and in cooperation with the States--a national voluntary
motor vehicle theft prevention program. The national Watch Your Car
Program allows owners of motor vehicles to voluntarily display a decal or
device, such as a State-issued, customized license plate, on their vehicles
to alert police that their vehicles are not normally driven between the hours
of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Motorists may also choose to display another decal or
device to signify that their vehicles are not normally driven in the
proximity of international land borders or ports. 

What Is the Purpose of the Program? 

A significant number of auto thefts are committed during the early
morning hours when the owners are asleep and unaware that their vehicles
have been stolen. In many instances, a stolen car is driven to a "chop shop"
or across State lines before the owner awakens to discover the theft. If a
vehicle is not stolen for the purpose of resale or disassembly for the
procurement of its parts, it may be used in the commission of another
crime. In any event, the thief wants to avoid being noticed and will refrain
from stealing vehicles that could draw the attention of law enforcement
officials. The purpose of the Watch Your Car Program is to identify
vehicles that are not routinely operated during early morning hours or near
international land borders or ports so that law enforcement officers can
investigate an auto theft before a stolen vehicle report is filed. 

In addition to the customary department of motor vehicles database, some
States maintain a database of vehicles enrolled in vehicle theft prevention
programs. This information is instantly accessible to law enforcement
officers at all times. Consider the following example: A thief removes a
vehicle's decals and, while driving, arouses the suspicion of a police
officer on patrol. The officer can access a computerized database to not
only check whether a stolen vehicle report has been filed, but also search
for a potential stolen vehicle in the State's Watch Your Car Program
database. If the database indicates that the vehicle is enrolled in the
program, the officer knows that light-reflective Watch Your Car decals
should be affixed to the vehicle. The absence of such decals would
heighten the officer's suspicion that the vehicle had been stolen. 

The program compels thieves to remove tamper-resistant window decals
while outside the vehicle, thus arousing attention by their suspicious
behavior. These impediments, along with other theft prevention devices
the owner may use, such as steering wheel locks, raise the deterrence
threshold. 

How Does the Program Work?

State governments have the option of participating in the program. To
register for the program, motor vehicle owners sign a consent form and
obtain the program decals. The consent form authorizes law enforcement
officers to stop the motor vehicle if it is being driven under certain
specified conditions and take reasonable steps to determine whether the
vehicle is being operated with the owner's consent. 

There are two program conditions. Under the first condition, the owner
may consent to have the car stopped if it is being operated between the
hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m (the "night program"). Under the second
condition, the owner may consent to have the car stopped if it comes
within 1 mile of a U.S. land border or international port.

Motorists wishing to participate in the night program apply decals to the
exterior sides of both the windshield and rear window. For persons
desiring the extra protection of having their vehicles checked when
operated in the general proximity of an international land border or port, a
third decal is applied to the windshield.

Vehicle not normally operated during early morning hours. This decal,
shown in figure 1, is applied on the front windshield directly above the
inside rearview mirror.

Vehicle registered with Watch Your Car Program. This decal, shown in
figure 2, is placed on the outside lower-left corner of the rear window. It
contains no written information but simply serves as a beacon to law
enforcement officials that the vehicle is registered with the antitheft
program.

Vehicle not normally operated near international borders or ports.
Motorists can elect to have the decal shown in figure 3 applied next to the
decal for the night program. It is highly visible to border inspectors and
law enforcement personnel who watch oncoming traffic at border
crossings and ports. 

All vehicles enrolled in the Watch Your Car night program use the decals
depicted in figures 1 and 2. The decal in figure 3 is optional, to be used in
States offering the borders/ports program. Decals are tamper resistant and
are made of retroreflective sheeting to reflect light from the headlights of
oncoming traffic or from vehicles following behind.

Are There Similar State Auto Theft Prevention Programs?

The most common antitheft program is Combat Auto Theft (CAT), which
is presently used both on a statewide basis and by individual local
jurisdictions in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. The
State of Illinois has a Beat Auto Theft (BAT) Program, while Texas has a
Help End Auto Theft (HEAT) Program. The national Watch Your Car
Program has adopted the Texas Automobile Theft Prevention Authority's
Watch Your Car icon and, in fact, is modeled after the HEAT Program.

How Does the Watch Your Car Program Build on State Experience?

Recently there has been a proliferation of similar kinds of vehicle theft
prevention programs developed by numerous State and local law
enforcement agencies nationwide. Programs such as Texas' HEAT and
Illinois' BAT function on a statewide basis, which ensures a level of
uniformity among participating municipalities and counties. However, a
number of other programs implemented in other States at the local level
use different emblems, icons, and symbols. These programs work
successfully in the jurisdictions where they were implemented because the
local police easily recognize their own jurisdiction's decal. However, if a
thief drives a stolen vehicle into another jurisdiction or across State lines,
the police in that jurisdiction may not recognize the decal or, if they do
recognize it, may lack the authorization to stop the vehicle and check the
identity of the driver. 

The main advantage of the national Watch Your Car Program is that it
uses a decal that will eventually become an instantly recognizable icon by
police nationwide. It provides for intrastate and interstate enforcement by
allowing police officers to check vehicles with differing county stickers
and/or State license plates. Thus, if a thief steals a vehicle, drives to
another city or State, and attempts to operate that vehicle between 1 a.m.
and 5 a.m., police in that jurisdiction are authorized to stop the vehicle and
check the identity of the driver. 

Funding Availability

Congress has appropriated funds for BJA to award a limited number of
implementation grants to State agencies. Watch Your Car Program grants
of up to $150,000 will be awarded on a competitive basis to States that
submit statewide strategies to prevent motor vehicle theft. These strategies
shall include effective training of law enforcement personnel, prevention
initiatives such as Vehicle Identification Number etching of auto glass,
marketing campaigns, and public outreach efforts. 

BJA mailed the fiscal year 1998 program announcement and application
kit to interested State agencies in late January 1998. Applications must be
postmarked or receipted by private carrier by March 31, 1998. All States
that have not previously received an award under the program are eligible
to apply. To date, BJA has made awards to Arizona, Florida, Maryland,
New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee. 

Eligibility for funding is limited to State agencies only. The program
announcement and application kits were mailed to either the State's Motor
Vehicle Theft Prevention Authority or, for those States without an
authority, the State Administrating Agency (SAA) for the Edward Byrne
Memorial Formula and/or the Local Law Enforcement Assistance Block
Grant Programs. To locate a State's point of contact for the Watch Your
Car Program, call the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1-
800-421-6770. We suggest that local police departments, crime prevention
groups, and other interested parties call their respective theft prevention
authority or SAA to express interest in the program.

Criteria that States must address in developing statewide strategies include
the following:

o Problem Statement. States wishing to apply for funds shall provide an
assessment of the auto theft problem in their jurisdiction and efforts
undertaken to address it. Applicants should contrast the severity of their
auto theft problem with that of other States, discern the patterns and trends
of auto theft, and discuss any unique geographic and socioeconomic
characteristics of their State that exacerbate the automobile theft situation.

o Goals and Objectives. Applicants must provide goals, objectives, and
methods of implementation for the project that are consistent with the
program announcement. Objectives should be clear, measurable,
attainable, and focused on the methods used to conduct the project.
Applicants should also discuss who the beneficiary group or groups are
and how they will benefit from the program.

o Project Strategy or Design. Applicants should describe the proposed
Watch Your Car Program, including its size and scope, outreach efforts to
educate the public, training programs to inform law enforcement agencies
throughout the jurisdiction of the program, a description of the centralized
computer registry (strongly recommended), and efforts to be undertaken to
enlist support from both public and private organizations such as auto
insurance companies and major retail businesses.

o Implementation Plan. Applicants should provide an implementation plan
that includes a schedule of milestones for significant tasks and should
establish deadlines for the completion of each step.

o Budget Narrative. Applicants should provide a specific statement of the
proposed use of grant funds, such as the printing, purchase, or distribution
of decals; registration and consent forms; public information materials and
awareness campaigns; training programs for law enforcement personnel;
registration campaigns; equipment; administrative costs; upgrading
computer databases; additional personnel; and travel expenses and
overtime for Watch Your Car activities.

o Program Evaluation and Assessment. Applicants should indicate how
the success of project implementation will be assessed and the extent to
which the strategy achieved the project's goals and objectives. The
evaluation should describe how the collected data will be measured as well
as the frequency of measurement.

Sources for Further Information

To request further information on the Watch Your Car Program, call the
U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800-421-6770. For
callers from the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, the number 
is 202-307-1480.

 FS000151
February 1998