EL PASO, Texas -- Auto thefts in the Sun City are down by 33 percent so far this year. But authorities are spotting a new trend where thieves from El Paso are stealing cars from other cities.

"We've all been able to get some of these car thieves on the run a little bit," said Stephen Plummer, of the El Paso County Auto Burglary and Theft Prevention Task Force.

In 1993, El Paso ranked first for car thefts per capita. But then the auto theft task force was created, and Plummer said now some thieves are moving to new ground.

"Some of the thieves are from down here," said Plummer. "They're going up there because it might be a little bit easier to take a vehicle and drive it down than to risk running into a task force member or officer down here on the border."

A total of 86 vehicles stolen outside of El Paso have been recovered within the city this year.

"We probably have gotten 32 vehicles from Albuquerque this year so far," said Plummer. "And Albuquerque's suffering quite a spike in auto thefts."

The task force reported catching many thieves in El Paso as they tried to cross the border into Mexico.

"Our task force does work operations at the international bridges," said Plummer. "They're unscheduled. They just pop up."