"Gone in Gone in 60 seconds, dismantled in 20 minutes"

Three men in white T-shirts stripped a 2003 Crown Victoria on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon surrounded by state and university police.

In approximately 20 minutes, the retired police vehicle was dismantled. Its major components lay scattered around the shell like broken puzzle pieces.

As part of an all-day automotive anti-theft event, Sofia Collision in Rochester held demonstrations like this one to inform the public on the speed and precision of auto thieves.

Several organizations including Allstate, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYSDMV), Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, UB Police, NY State Police, and New York Anti-Car Theft and Fraud Association, collaborated in an annual program designed to deter automobile theft.

"As long as people drive, people will steal cars," said Ben Schiavone, investigator for NYSDMV.

Schiavone has come to UB every September for the past three years promoting the prevention of auto-theft.

At the Helm Garage on Service Center Road, cars, trucks and hummers lined up to receive a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), which was etched onto their car windows.

After registering their vehicle to receive their VIN, trained professionals from the DMV then enter the owner's information into a national database. After cleaning all windows, the unique 17-digit number is printed on special paper that is stuck to the corners of each window, including the sunroof.

According to Lieutenant David Urbanek of University Police, there are weak spots in this paper that allow an acid solution to be put on it and then etch a "subtle" imprint. The etching is barley noticeable and cannot be detected by the human hand.

"You have to keep in mind one thing: anything can happen anywhere," Urbanek said. "Any car is vulnerable."

According to NYSDMV Senior Investigator Ryan Lang, it is easier for illegal chop shops to take apart and sell a car that has not been VIN etched. He said a car thief would therefore avoid taking a vehicle that has been VIN etched.

"The VIN etching makes a vehicle way more difficult to be sold in chop shops and in the black market," Lang said.

Car owners can also participate in the "Watch Your Car Program," which gives the owner the option of placing a small sticker on the back window of their car. According to Lang, this allows any police officer to stop that car for no other reason other than to check the legitimacy of the driver between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

For many UB students who find themselves on the road after a night out on the town, the Watch Your Car Program may be more of an inconvenience than a safety feature. The program is best effective for those who do not usually drive and therefore may not be driving their vehicle on the road during the hours previously stated.

The profit a car thief or an auto shop can gain from stolen car parts is enough to keep car thieves and garages that sell stolen auto parts on their game, according to Schiavone.

"On average, a car is worth three times its total value in parts," Schiavone said.

Special Investigation Manager of Allstate Insurance Stephen Englert estimated that the vehicle dismantled that day, while in one piece, had the value of $10,500. That same car in parts is worth over $25,000.

The penalty of committing auto theft or illegal sales operations can be steep, according to Urbanek. In New York, unauthorized use of a vehicle or grand larceny - a felony charge of theft of over $1,000 - for a first-degree charge, there is a maximum penalty of 25 years.

According to Kathleen Wilkie, an exclusive agent for Allstate Insurance, stealing insured cars is not a victimless crime, because often the owner will need to pay for part of the coverage on the car, and costs like a rental car and the cost of insurance raising are all implications of which the driver must bear the brunt. A stolen car is also never covered 100 percent, as owners will often only receive the depreciated value of the car.

While car insurance costs may rise if a car is stolen, Wilkie said that drivers could actually reduce their premium for theft coverage by about three percent when a VIN number is etched into their vehicle.

According to Director of Field Inspection for NYSDMV Owen McShane, the cost of VIN etching is only about $2 per car when the products are bought in bulk.

However, according to Lang, car dealerships can sometimes charge up to $600 for this service, marketing it as part of a security package.

Although VIN etching and the Watch Your Car program are not foolproof, they are a means to deter thieves, according to Mike DeGeorge of the Buffalo Police Department. While there are approximately between 150 to 170 vehicles stolen every month in Buffalo, DeGeorge said, it is important to make your car the least appealing car on the lot, or it may be "gone in 60 seconds" and dismantled in 20 minutes.