Gonna go out on a limb as guess you're both right: the recovery rate's decent, but only because a pretty high percentage of stolen cars are simply abandoned (th

Gonna go out on a limb as guess you're both right: the recovery rate's decent, but only because a pretty high percentage of stolen cars are simply abandoned (think: stealing cars for joy riding, which is pretty damn common in certain circles) and then found in that state, or used in some other crime or series of crimes and eventually swept up because the perpetrators get caught with the car while doing something else, not because the cops put much effort into actually finding the cars. Considering the magnitude of property crimes I've seen them refuse to put any effort into whatsoever, I can't imagine they put special care into solving car thefts. Except when they can solve them basically by accident, which is literally the only way I've ever seen them solve a theft.