Balearic car theft problem

FOR drivers who have their vehicles stolen in the Balearics, the odds of them getting their car back are the lowest in Spain. In general, nearly 75% of cars stolen in Spain are eventually recovered and returned to their owners, but in the Balearics, the figure is less than half, 45 per cent, according to government figures released yesterday. Between January and November of last year, 140.509 vehicles were stolen in Spain, 102.420 were recovered and 38.089 have yet to be found. Contrary to the Canaries and the Basque Country, for example, where the stolen vehicle return rate is nearly 90 per cent. In the Balearics and Spain's N. African enclave Ceuta, the stolen vehicle return rates are the lowest in Spain. Last year, 6.019 vehicles were stolen in the Balearics with 2.755 eventually being recovered and returned to their owners. Madrid and Andalucia have the highest rates of car theft, last year over 30.000 vehicles were stolen in each region. At the other end of the scale, there were just 222 vehicles stolen in Melilla and 440 in Navarra.