WHEREAS, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) estimates that the recovery rate of stolen vehicles has decreased from 84% in 1970 to only 67% in 1997; and WHEREAS, due to criminals changing vehicle identity by installing counterfeit VIN plates, obtaining fraudulent titles, and exporting stolen vehicles to other jurisdictions, it is likely that stolen vehicles will resurface in the market place and be sold in a piecemeal fashion with components being sold separately; and WHEREAS, a lack of standardized procedures dealing with the states' inspecting and titling of rebuilt salvaged motor vehicles and the lack of standardized title branding fails to alert the consumer to the problems of salvaged and damaged vehicles; and WHEREAS, this lack of standardization allows criminals to launder vehicle titles in states with less stringent titling laws and compromises the general safety of the public by failing to properly inspect remanufactured vehicles; and WHEREAS, S. 655, The National Salvage Motor Vehicle Consumer Protection Act of 1999, pending before the United States Congress, provides for anti-theft inspection of salvage motor vehicles, nationally uniform safety inspection criteria, and standardized title branding; and WHEREAS, states choosing to adopt the national guidelines will be eligible for conformance incentive grants that can be used to issue new titles, administer safety inspections, conduct enforcement activities, and other related purposes; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) urges the passage of S 655, The National Salvage Motor Vehicle Consumer Protection Act of 1999, and that the membership contact their Senators and Representatives to urge their support.