Sometimes holding steady is not so bad. The National Insurance Crime Bureau’s preliminary report for 2011 indicates that Rome is not as much of a hot spot for auto theft as some other places.

The report is based on auto thefts per capita population. Rome dropped nine positions on the annual survey in spite of the fact that the number of auto thefts in Rome and Floyd County dropped by just one from one year to the next.

The NICB report ranks Rome 169 among the nation’s metropolitan statistical areas, down from 160 in 2010.

Capt. Terry Autry of the Rome Police Department said the number of auto thefts in the city limits dropped from 107 in 2010 to 95 in 2011. The number of reported auto thefts was up in unincorporated Floyd County, according to Capt. John Blalock of the Floyd County Police Department, from 93 in 2010 to 104 in 2011.

That equates to a difference of one vehicle, as 200 automobiles were reported stolen in 2010, and 199 were taken in 2011.

All of the Georgia’s major cities moved down in the rankings, except for Savannah, which held at number 78. Dalton dropped from number 155 in 2010 to number 181 last year.

Fresno, Calif., was number one for the second consecutive year.

Columbus was highest rated among cities in Georgia, checking in at number 33 nationally. Macon came in at 35, and Atlanta was 38 on the 2011 auto theft report.

Augusta, Warner Robins, Athens and Brunswick all ranked higher than Rome, while Albany, Dalton, Gainesville, Hinesville and Valdosta all checked in lower in the ranking of metropolitan areas.