Over 152 cars were stolen and 156 cars were misappropriated in Sverdlovsk Region throughout January 1, 2010 to March 15, 2010. These figures were, respectively, 41.3% and 56.3% lower than those for the year earlier (259 cars and 357 cars, respectively).

In about 28.6% of cases, the thieves of the stolen cars were detected (compared with 23.1% in the first two and a half months of 2009); the misappropriated automobiles were found in 57.8% of cases (compared with 54.7% in the first two and a half months of 2009), the spokesperson for Sverdlovsk Region’s road police report.

Despite the general decrease in the number of hijackings, expensive cars tend to be stolen more often this year. For one, thirty-four makes of Toyota, Mazda, and Mitsubishi have been stolen in the region since the beginning of the year compared with twenty-one such automobiles a year earlier.