It's my impression (though I don't have a survey from the burlar's guild to back it up) that criminals very rarely pick locks, or even know how to do so. Instead, they're likely to bypass the lock (e.g. slim jim a car door) or attack it destructively (hacksaw, hammer, bolt cutters, etc...).
you are correct about criminals favoring bypass/destructive entry vs. picking in general (I think this is mentioned in marc tobias' book RE: the uncommon nature of lock forensics) -- I pointed out the other methods because the anecdote references "pro" car thieves. when dealing with high value targets, minimizing damage (to, e.g., a rare/irreplaceable or expensive steering wheel) is more important than the average car theft where someone's just trying to get from point A to point B.
