Auto theft drops in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg police say the juveniles who steal cars do so for free means of transportation.

PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A recent St. Petersburg Police crime report reveals auto theft has dropped by 44.6 percent from 2007 to 2008.

The news is reassuring to city resident John Green, whose car was recently broken into.

"There's a strong police presence going in and out of the neighborhood," Green said. "Up and down the street so the police department really does their fair share on trying to keep it under control."

A motor vehicle is stolen about every 25 seconds in the United States, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Florida ranks second in the nation.

Forty-six percent of those arrested for auto theft in the state are juveniles.

The police department has partnered up with the state's Department of Juvenile Justice to arrest 50 of the "hard core" teenage car thefts.

Police say those behind the thefts are usually between the ages of 14 and 17 and their main reason for stealing is a means of free transportation.

Green's car was broken into about 6 months ago in his old southeast neighborhood, one of the areas of the city where many car thieves have targeted.

Downtown is one of the three areas with the highest number of car thefts, centering around the corner of 1st Avenue North and 4th Street North. The other two areas include Greater Pinellas Point and Child's Park.

Green thinks the thief used a crow bar to get inside through the back window and got away with about a $1 in change.

"It was horrible," Green said. "You hear people talk about how they feel violated and it's true."

Green has been much more watchful since that incident. He never leaves anything valuable in the car and his home is equipped with surveillance cameras.

"If I can't catch 'em at least I can have a tape to point somebody in the right direction," Green said.

"The neighbors try to watch out for one another," he said. "So we have some overlap. But there are hours during the day there's simply not people watching so it's good to know the police are helping."

Theft Prevention Rallies

In it's effort to reduce the number of auto thefts in our city, the police department periodically conducts auto theft prevention rallies at which officer present a free "Club" to any owner of a "high theft" vehicle (as determined by auto thefts within our city) or who has been the victim of an auto theft.

To qualify for this, a person must live or work in the City of St. Petersburg and have in their possession a valid driver's license and vehicle registration at the time the club is received.

For information, contact Officer John Harris at 727-893-7559.

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