Newcastle Police Department has received a grant from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority (WATPA) to combat and prevent motor vehicle theft and other related crime.

“These funds will ultimately help the citizens of Newcastle by providing additional resources to help drive down auto theft in our community,” said Steve Kajihiro, Newcastle Chief of Police.

Fund for the grants come from the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Account approved by the Washington State Legislature for the purpose of establishing, maintaining, and supporting programs that are designed to prevent motor vehicle theft and other related crime. WATPA works in partnership with the state to distribute the grants. The grants in 2024 amount to more than $2.7 million to 41 local police and sheriff’s departments statewide.

WATPA funding supports auto theft task forces and prosecutors in Washington’s major geographical areas that are plagued by auto theft. The authority also funds training for officers and detectives that work auto theft cases and contemporary equipment that makes communities safer by leveraging the equipment with innovative enforcement and investigative approaches to combatting auto theft. WATPA is managed in partnership with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC).

“Newcastle Police Department is doing a great job combatting auto thefts,” said Steven Strahan, WASPC executive director. “The grant funds will help them do even more to prevent these crimes as well as educate the public on how to prevent them.”

There were more than 40,000 auto thefts in Washington in 2023 but thanks to the hard work of officers, detectives, and prosecutors and with the support of legislative funds, the trend number of thefts is slowing trending downward in 2024.

The Newcastle Police Department expressed thanks to local state legislators for their support.