The National Insurance Crime Bureau recently released a list of the top ten cities in the United States for car theft, eight of which are cities located in California.

Of the top ten cities with the highest rate of car theft, Fresno ranked number one with 7,559 car thefts in 2010. In 2009, Fresno recorded 5,875 automobile thefts.

Modesto came in second with 3,878 recorded thefts –– that of 2009 when the city recorded 3,712 thefts.

Bakersfield, Sacramento, Vallejo, Visalia and Oakland also made the list.

Hayward, home of CSU East Bay, did not make the top ten car theft cities. However, in March 2011, police reports indicate that 93 vehicles were stolen in Hayward.

In April, a staggering 102 cars went missing and 91 thefts recorded in May.

Mary Fabian, crime prevention specialist, crime free coordinator, and volunteer coordinator of the Hayward Police Department said leaving a vehicle unattended in Hayward is not a good idea.

Although vehicle theft in Hayward appears to be on the decline, Fabian says there were 1,007 thefts in 2010, compared with 1,452 in 2009, citing the trend of vehicle theft in Northern California as problematic for many communities.

Fabian suggests being careful to simply not leave keys in the car seems obvious but more than 20 percent of cars are stolen with the keys in them, she said.

Locking a car when leaving it unattended is also important, noting that almost 50 percent of stolen vehicles were left unlocked.

Other tips include not leaving spare keys hidden in a vehicle, not leaving valuables visible in the car and parking in well-lit areas.

By following these tips, she said, the number of vehicle thefts in California can begin to decrease and consequently make our communities safer.