Auto Theft Prevention Act
The Auto Theft Prevention Act would create a federal grant program under the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to help state and local law enforcement combat auto theft and stolen-vehicle trafficking. The program would be funded with up to $30 million per year from 2026 through 2030 and would distribute grants to each state’s Attorney General. Grants are allocated based on each state’s level of auto theft, with at least 50% of awarded funds passed through as competitive subgrants to local agencies and at least 25% allocated to state agencies; any remaining funds could be awarded through additional competitive subgrants. Eligible uses include equipment (such as license plate readers), personnel and overtime, training, joint task forces, data collection/research, and up to 5% for administrative costs of applying for and implementing the grant. The act also expands uses of existing COPS funds to explicitly cover auto theft prevention activities. Definitions clarify who counts as local/state law enforcement and what constitutes a locality.
Key Points
- 1Establishes the Auto Theft Prevention Grant Program within the DOJ’s COPS office to fund state and local efforts against auto theft and stolen-vehicle trafficking.
- 2Grants to states are proportional to each state’s level of auto theft; at least 50% of awarded funds must go to local law enforcement as competitive subgrants, at least 25% to state law enforcement, with any remainder available as additional competitive subgrants.
- 3Eligible uses include equipment (e.g., license plate readers and related data/storage costs), hiring and overtime for personnel, training, joint task forces, and data collection/research, plus up to 5% for administrative costs.
- 4Authorization of $30 million annually for fiscal years 2026–2030 to carry out the program.
- 5Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act to broaden allowable uses of COPS funds to explicitly support auto theft prevention activities.