Washington motor-vehicle-theft rates rose above the U.S. trend, then fell

What this chart asks

How did Washington's monthly reported motor-vehicle-theft rate compare with the United States from 2018 through 2025?

Why it is shown this way

• A monthly line chart preserves the timing hidden by annual totals and avoids implying that policy-period averages are causal effects.
• Rates per 100,000 permit a more meaningful Washington-to-national comparison than raw counts.
• The y-axis begins at zero to avoid visually exaggerating differences between the two series.
• Distinct colors and the accompanying accessible table identify both series; interpretation does not depend on color alone.
• Exact legal effective dates are annotations for temporal context, not modeled intervention estimates.

Chart annotations

These markers provide relevant context for interpreting the chart. Their timing or position does not, by itself, establish causation.

HB 1054 restrictions took effect

July 25, 2021

Washington's statewide pursuit restrictions took effect during July 2021.

SB 5352 broadened authority

May 3, 2023

SB 5352 broadened pursuit authority for specified offenses and took effect immediately.

Initiative 2113 took effect

June 6, 2024

Initiative 2113 broadened pursuit authority and took effect during June 2024.

Data and accessibility

Download chart data · Open accessible table · Download PNG · Download SVG

Dataset washington-motor-vehicle-theft-2018-2025, analysis monthly-rate-long-series

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

Washington Monthly Motor-Vehicle-Theft Offenses, 2018–2025

1. Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Data Explorer Principal source for monthly Washington and United States offenses, clearances, rates, population, and population-coverage values.

   Retrieved October 7, 2026. U.S. federal government data. Retained source response is redistributed for reproducibility with attribution to the FBI Crime Data Explorer.

2. Washington State Legislature Official source for HB 1054 and its 2021 pursuit-law effective date.

   Retrieved October 7, 2026. Washington State public record. Linked as an official public record; source document bytes are not redistributed in this release.

3. Washington State Legislature Official session law for SB 5352 and its immediate May 3, 2023 effective date.

   Retrieved October 7, 2026. Washington State public record. Linked as an official public record; source document bytes are not redistributed in this release.

4. Washington State Legislature Official session law for Initiative 2113 and its June 6, 2024 effective date.

   Retrieved October 7, 2026. Washington State public record. Linked as an official public record; source document bytes are not redistributed in this release.

Limitations

• The United States series is a descriptive benchmark, not a causal counterfactual for Washington.
• The chart does not control for the pandemic, Kia and Hyundai vehicle vulnerabilities, policing, prosecution, staffing, or reporting-system changes.
• Washington population coverage declines during the second half of 2025, so the final decline should not be interpreted as entirely behavioral.
• Legal-event annotations show timing only and do not establish that a law caused a subsequent increase or decrease.
• FBI rates and Washington WACIC or WATPA stolen-vehicle totals are different measures and must not be treated as interchangeable.