Stolen vehicles directly tie into a wide range of criminal activity. They are also used in the production and distribution of organized crime funds. The Arizona Department of Public Safety administers the state’s Vehicle Theft Task Force (AVTTF) which works with the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center to follow up on leads related to these activities. In Arizona, across the border, drug cartels often use stolen vehicles to bring in narcotics and proliferate human smuggling.
The AVTTF is comprised of city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies participating in a concerted effort to identify, apprehend, and prosecute individuals and criminal organizations that profit from the theft of motor vehicles and related crimes. The AVTTF provides a vital mission on behalf of the Arizona Automobile Theft Authority (AATA) to reduce vehicle theft in Arizona by deterring criminal activity through aggressive, proactive enforcement and by creating a public awareness through community education. Through continued grant funding from AATA, the VTTF will continue to provide exemplary services to the citizens of Arizona.
The VTTF is currently comprised of 12 different agencies; Arizona DPS, Apache Junction PD, Arizona Department of Insurance, Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles, Benson PD, Goodyear PD, Marana PD, Maricopa PD, Pima County SO, Pinal County SO, Tucson PD, and Yuma PD. Investigators from the National Insurance Crime Bureau also work within the task force.