In St. Pete, car thefts skyrocket

ST. PETERSBURG - St. Petersburg police think a few dozen kids are responsible for a startling statistic: auto thefts so far this year are up 46 percent.

The thefts are happening evenly throughout the city because of the way the kids play the game: steal a car, drive until fuel gets low, then park it and steal another one.

More specifically, St. Petersburg police blame two separate age groups for the increase in the auto thefts.

"We have two problems really: the new crop, and the older, when I say older I'm talking about 16, 17 years old, repeat auto thieves," says spokesman Bill Proffitt.

Proffitt points to 2008's statistics as proof of theory. Thefts dropped 37 percent last year, he claims, while many repeat offenders were in long-term treatment programs. Now they are back on the street, while a "new generation" of 13 and 14 year olds is getting involved.

"You're probably talking 25 to 50 auto thieves, total," Proffitt says.

Many body shops call Darin Collinsworth to repair or replace steering columns damaged or destroyed by the thieves. He explain how the column around the ignition key cylinder "...gets pretty much jacked with a screwdriver, the cylinder flies out on the floor and they stick their screwdriver in it and it starts pretty much like with a key."

Older cars and trucks and even newer Dodges and Chryslers are particularly vulnerable.

Optional antitheft systems on some Dodge trucks shut the engine off after four seconds if something other than the owner's key is used. Unfortunately by then, the damage is done and the entire column will have to be replaced.

Pointing to the assembly of one Dodge truck, Collinsworth said "one of the most expensive columns I do is this column right here actually. It runs about $1,350."

A little more than 1,300 vehicles were stolen in St. Petersburg in 2008. At the end of October the number stood at 1,916.

Collinsworth agrees: "St. Pete is my busiest area, without a shadow of a doubt."