car thefts - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T20:22:57Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/car+theftsBoca Raton: Wave of car thefts rattles homeowners in Golden Harbour, Golden Trianglehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-wave-of-car-thefts-rattles-homeowners-in-golden-harbou2024-01-03T15:54:08.000Z2024-01-03T15:54:08.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Fed up with car thefts in their neighborhoods and what they claim is insufficient police action to stop them, Golden Triangle and Golden Harbour residents have mounted a campaign to press the Boca Raton Police Department to ramp up enforcement.</p>
<p>The residents turned out in force at the Dec. 11 and 12 council meetings to make their case that more needs to be done to stop the thefts in their neighborhoods along the Intracoastal Waterway north of Palmetto Park Road.</p>
<p>“We are sitting ducks,” said Golden Triangle resident Joe Majhess. “In the last week, $1 million of cars were stolen out of our neighborhood. We told (police) it would escalate. It has.”</p>
<p>Residents said the thieves aren’t simply looking for unlocked cars in driveways. They now are entering garages, which prompts fears that their homes could be invaded. They also think that the thieves are armed, because a stolen Bentley and Rolls-Royce had guns in them, and the Bentley also had $10,000 inside.</p>
<p>“It is a scary time to be a resident in our neighborhood,” said one woman. “It is not a good quality of life when you are at home and scared.”</p>
<p>The residents want the Police Department to discard a long-standing policy that officers cannot chase suspected criminals unless they committed a forcible felony, or crimes such as murder, manslaughter, sexual battery, carjacking and robbery. Car theft is not a forcible felony.</p>
<p>Officers can make arrests if they catch thieves in the act and they do not flee.</p>
<p>“With a no-chase policy, there is no way to stop them,” said Mike Majhess, Joe’s uncle.</p>
<p>The policy results in few arrests, which emboldens the thieves, they said.</p>
<p>“I don’t have a great deal of optimism about there being a great deal of change unless this issue is pressed,” Joe Majhess said when contacted after the meeting. “The ultimate responsibility falls on the police chief to enforce the laws and make us feel safe. Unless crime is effectively deterred, it is only a matter of time until someone gets hurt.”</p>
<p>However, Police Department statistics do not support the residents’ contention that more cars are being stolen and that few arrests are made.</p>
<p>As of mid-December, 213 cars had been stolen citywide. Totals of 218 were stolen in 2022, 168 in 2021 and 220 in 2020.</p>
<p>At the end of 2023, 20 arrests had been made, and 33 cases remained under investigation. Thirty-eight arrests were made in 2022.</p>
<p>Police Chief Michele Miuccio denied ignoring the problem at the Dec. 11 meeting, saying that more officers are patrolling the neighborhoods at night and conducting surveillance in unmarked vehicles.</p>
<p>While declining to discuss investigative techniques “so the bad guys know what we are doing,” she said, “we are throwing as much assets at it as we can.”</p>
<p>Thefts aren’t an issue just for Boca Raton, she said, noting that car thieves are operating throughout southern Palm Beach County.</p>
<p>To safeguard themselves, she urged residents not to keep cars unlocked with keys or key fobs inside. According to department statistics as of mid-December, 57% of the stolen cars were unlocked and 58% had keys or fobs in the car.</p>
<p>Many police departments in Florida and in other states have no-pursuit policies similar to Boca Raton’s for crimes other than forcible felonies. High-speed chases have drawn scrutiny across the country because they often result in death and injury.</p>
<p>The <em>Tampa Bay Times</em> reported in 2022 that a 2015 <em>USA Today</em> analysis showed more than 5,000 people had been killed in police car chases between 1979 and 2013. Most were not involved in the chases and were killed in their own cars by a fleeing driver, and tens of thousands more were injured, the analysis showed.</p>
<p>From 2016 to 2020, an additional 1,903 people were killed in crashes involving police pursuits, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.</p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Justice in 1990 called pursuits “the most dangerous of all ordinary police activities” and urged police departments to adopt policies listing when officers can and cannot pursue someone, the Times report said.</p>
<p>A Florida Supreme Court ruling in 1992 also prompted police departments to revise their pursuit policies after the court held that cities and their police officers involved in pursuits resulting in death or injuries are liable for damages.</p>
<p>Boca Raton City Council members voiced support for more police patrols in the neighborhoods and an enhanced public education program so people know they need to keep their cars locked.</p>
<p>George Brown, who was elevated to city manager on Dec. 31, said police will meet with residents to share information.</p>
<p>But as of now, the Police Department is not considering changing its no-pursuit policy, police Public Information Manager Mark Economou wrote in an email after the meeting.</p></div>Gulf Stream: A1A resident tapped for ‘Place Au Soleil seat’ on commissionhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-a1a-resident-tapped-for-place-au-soleil-seat-on-commi2022-05-04T16:25:49.000Z2022-05-04T16:25:49.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong></p>
<p>For the first time in at least 24 years, no one from Place Au Soleil has a seat on the Gulf Stream Town Commission.<br />Donna White, who served since June 2013, submitted a resignation letter March 21 saying she is leaving the area. Her 5-bedroom, 3.5-bath home at 2750 Avenue Au Soleil is on the market for $2.549 million.<br /><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10464179290,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10464179290,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="216" alt="10464179290?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a>The commission appointed Thom Smith, chairman of the town’s Architectural Review and Planning Board, to the seat at its April 8 meeting.<br />“The Town Staff has been a pleasure to work with, always willing and informative on any issue that is presented, and I have the highest regard for the dedication and integrity of my fellow Commissioners,” White wrote in her resignation letter. <br />“I truly will miss the warmth and camaraderie that I have experienced in all my dealings with the town.”<br />Mayor Scott Morgan “regretfully” announced White’s resignation at the meeting.<br />“She was always someone … who had great depth of knowledge and understanding not only of our code but more importantly, the design manual and the importance of preserving what’s important in Gulf Stream,” Morgan said.<br />The seat goes to Smith, the mayor’s neighbor at the south end of town on State Road A1A.<br />“He’s a home boy. He was born and bred here. He knows the significance of Gulf Stream within the neighboring communities and what makes us a very special community,” Morgan said.<br />“He’s got very good judgment,” Commissioner Paul Lyons said. “As you said, talking about local knowledge, he has that.”<br />Smith’s appointment is the first change on the dais since 2016, when Lyons, then chairman of the ARPB, filled a vacancy created by Bob Ganger’s health-related resignation.<br />The mayor said he tried to recruit Malcolm Murphy, a Place Au Soleil resident and vice chair of the ARPB, but he asked not to be considered because of his business and travel plans.<br />White moved to Gulf Stream in 2002, was active in Place Au Soleil’s homeowners association and sat on the ARPB from 2006 to 2010. She was appointed to the ARPB after her neighbor, Muriel “Mert” Anderson, was elevated to the commission.<br />When Anderson resigned, she urged White to signal an interest in the job. White was the only person to do so.<br />The commission doesn’t have districts, “but I really like having someone from Place Au Soleil,” then-Commissioner Ganger said at the time.<br />Preceding Anderson on the commission was another Place Au Soleil resident, William A. Lynch, who first ran unopposed for a seat in 1998.<br /><strong>In other business</strong>, police said they recorded two automobile thefts, one from the Core area and one from an open garage in broad daylight in Place Au Soleil, the first auto theft for that neighborhood. Both vehicles had keys inside.<br />Chief Edward Allen said a group of thieves is “working the whole state. We’ve heard from Delray, Ocean Ridge, Manalapan. They just don’t know where they are what night or what day.”<br />Allen also said five-year veteran Officer Ramon Batista, who left the police force in July, had rejoined the department after deciding he was not ready for retirement. </p></div>Ocean Ridge: Chief to talk to residents about new anti-crime programshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-chief-to-talk-to-residents-about-new-anti-crime-progr2021-12-29T17:45:08.000Z2021-12-29T17:45:08.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Joe Capozzi</strong></p>
<p>The Ocean Ridge Police Department plans to launch programs in 2022 aimed at providing more visible anti-crime enforcement and preventing car theft.<br /> Police Chief Richard Jones will discuss the programs on Jan. 5 at a special Town Hall meeting. The meeting, which doubles as a meet-and-greet for residents and the new police chief, starts at 5:30 p.m.<br /> <a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9966266868,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9966266868,RESIZE_180x180{{/staticFileLink}}" width="94" alt="9966266868?profile=RESIZE_180x180" /></a>“We will talk about crime trends and what neighbors and residents can do to protect themselves,’’ said Jones, who took over when Hal Hutchins retired in August.<br /> Starting Jan. 10, Jones will launch a targeting enforcement initiative called the “ACE Team,’’ which stands for aggressive criminal enforcement. It will be made up of three officers who will work unique schedules in response to crimes like car thefts. <br /> For example, if a home is burglarized at 3 a.m., the ACE group might patrol the vicinity in which the burglary occurred the next night from midnight to 5 a.m. <br /> Although criminals might not return to the scene the next day, the ACE team’s presence in the area could result in vehicle stops for traffic violations and suspicious activity, possibly leading to arrests for outstanding warrants or in connection with stolen cars. <br /> “It’s not that the same person is going to come back and commit a crime, but when we are a soft target because we leave our cars unlocked and our keys in them, they find success once, then chances are they’ll return to find another unlocked car with keys inside,’’ Jones said. <br /> The ACE officers will offer a deterrent through increased presence and activity.<br /> “Whatever we can do to put the message out to the criminal element that you can come here if you want, but be prepared, if you are here to commit crimes you will likely be encountered by the police and if there’s a reason for you to go to jail, you’re going to go to jail,’’ Jones said.<br /> The group was launched partly in response to two car thefts on Dec. 1, one on Bimini Cove Drive and one on Harbour Drive North. In both cases, the cars were left unlocked with the keys likely left inside, Jones said. <br /> Those two car thefts helped spur a second initiative, called a Neighborhood License Plate Recognition program, that will employ enhanced cameras mounted inside participating neighborhoods.<br /> The new cameras will supplement the town’s existing license plate recognition cameras that were installed three years ago around Ocean Ridge.<br /> “That system is not flawless and it doesn’t work for certain functions,’’ Jones said.<br /> Island Drive and Island Drive South residents have volunteered to pay for the first new camera in the Neighborhood License Plate Recognition program. It will cost $2,500 a year. <br /> Jones hopes to purchase cameras for other neighborhoods in 2022. <br /> A third program, called the Combat Auto Theft initiative and used in other towns in Florida, will be launched if commissioners approve an ordinance creating it. <br /> The CAT program would invite residents to participate. They would receive special reflective program-designated stickers to put on their cars in a place visible to police.<br /> “If we see your vehicle on the street from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., it gives us reason to stop your vehicle. Most likely all residents in town are home or in bed during those hours. If we turn our blue lights on and you pull over, it probably means a resident is driving,’’ Jones said. <br /> “But if we turn our blue lights on and the car takes off, it was probably stolen. It’s important because then we want to check on the homeowner to make sure they’re OK.’’ <br /> Through late December, Ocean Ridge had six car thefts in 2021, one fewer than the total thefts for 2020 and one more than the total for 2019. <br /> “It’s common for us to have a stolen car or two here and there. That’s normal,’’ Jones said. <br /> But he said most of those thefts are preventable if residents don’t leave their cars unlocked with the keys or key fobs inside. <br /> “Too many times residents feel like this is a safe neighborhood and that no crime happens here, but that’s not entirely true,’’ he said. “It is a safe community, but it is not crime free.”</p>
<p><br /> <span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Ocean Ridge car thefts</strong></span><br /> <strong>2015</strong> 11 <br /> <strong>2016 </strong> 8<br /> <strong>2017</strong> 3<br /> <strong>2018</strong> 8<br /> <strong>2019</strong> 5 <br /> <strong>2020</strong> 7<br /> <strong>2021</strong> 6 as of Dec. 17 </p>
<p><strong>SOURCE:</strong> <em>Town of Ocean Ridge</em></p></div>Along the Coast: Thieves drive off in style from coastal homeshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-thieves-drive-off-in-style-from-coastal-homes2021-02-03T19:08:57.000Z2021-02-03T19:08:57.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p><strong>By Larry Barszewski</strong></p>
<p>Stealing luxury is easier than you might think when it comes to cars in South Palm Beach County’s coastal communities.<br /> While the U.S. top-10 list of stolen vehicles includes a number of Hondas, Toyotas and pickup trucks, most of the 11 cars ripped off in Gulf Stream last year had more panache: three Porsches, two Land Rovers, two Mercedes-Benzes, two BMWs, an Audi and a Dodge (a rental, of course). Thieves found 10 of them unlocked with the keys or key fobs inside.<br /> The seven cars taken in Ocean Ridge in 2020 were also left unlocked with the key/key fobs inside. It was the same story in Highland Beach, where a Mercedes and a Cadillac were stolen, and for the lone auto theft in Manalapan — a Rolls-Royce.<br /> Despite years of police messages advising people to do more to keep their cars secure, the warnings often fail to register with residents who have been lulled into a false sense of complacency by the barrier island’s low crime rates and small-town ambience.<br /> “I think that sense of security and well-being in where you live, that’s why we have to hammer away at ‘please lock your car; don’t leave valuables inside your car; take your keys with you,’” Ocean Ridge Police Chief Hal Hutchins said. “I don’t want you to build a fortress around yourself, but take simple precautions and avoid giving someone else the opportunity.”<br /> Car thefts are a problem nationwide and the keyless ignition systems haven’t helped as careless owners like the convenience of leaving their key fobs in center console cupholders. Still, there’s no denying the barrier island’s upscale reputation is a magnet for thieves looking for pricier models.<br /> The good news? Many of the automobiles are recovered, generally very quickly, with little or no damage done. They’re often found abandoned in Broward County or northern Miami-Dade County, possibly taken by teens out for joyrides or used in other crimes.<br /> But some of the priciest autos are still missing. The two Land Rovers and two of three Porsches stolen in Gulf Stream remain missing, raising concern that organized crime may play a role in at least some of the thefts. One of the Land Rovers, valued at $217,000, was taken from a billionaire’s gated estate that has its own security team.<br /> Police won’t get a better idea of what’s happening until they’re able to nab more thieves.<br /> “I firmly believe that it is organized crime that is doing this,” Manalapan Police Chief Carmen Mattox said of the auto thefts in his town and other coastal communities over the past year. “Our investigations have not concluded anything other than recovery of the vehicle. We have yet to make an arrest for anything.”</p>
<p><strong>No hour of day is safe</strong><br /> The thefts happen both at night and in broad daylight — even when a driver steps away from a car for just a few minutes. Videos from license-plate reading cameras have recorded stolen vehicles heading to the mainland before anyone knew they’d been taken. Sometimes they are followed by another vehicle stolen from somewhere else, likely driven by an accomplice who brought the car thief into town.<br />“It’s been very unpredictable,” Gulf Stream Police Chief Ed Allen said. “It’s not like a lot of crimes, where they develop a pattern. Here it’s been all hours of the day or night.”<br /> After Gulf Stream police responded to the report of a late-afternoon theft of a Mercedes on Polo Drive a year ago, they found an Infiniti stolen from Boca Raton parked in a driveway just a few doors away, probably driven by a thief who switched rides to the Mercedes.<br /> There was more to the story that day. A rented Dodge Charger parked next door disappeared the next morning. The people renting the Charger were going out to dinner at around the same time the Mercedes was stolen. They couldn’t find the Charger’s keys, which they thought had been left in the vehicle, so they took another car instead and planned to look for the missing keys later. The Charger was still there when they came home that night, but was gone by morning.<br /> Police recovered the Dodge the next day in Sunrise and the Mercedes a week after that in North Miami.<br /> At a Gulf Stream home on Ocean Boulevard in June, a Porsche owner left the car unlocked with the keys inside and proceeded to get dinner through a food delivery service that night. The car was gone the following morning, apparently stolen by thieves who knew it was unlocked with the keys inside. <br /> Ocean Ridge license-plate reading cameras showed a stolen Lexus coming onto the island at 6:40 that morning and heading back over the bridge — following the now-stolen Porsche — five minutes later. The Porsche has not been recovered.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8511628267,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8511628267,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="8511628267?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Thieves targeted unlocked cars that had keys or key fobs left inside. <strong>The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>Why fancy cars are marks</strong> <br />Police say all the fancy doo-dads cars have these days can make a thief’s job easier.<br /> “The invention of keyless start technology reduces vehicle security when the key fob is left inside an unattended vehicle. Groups of juveniles are targeting these vehicles to steal or burglarize,” Mattox said in a memo to Manalapan commissioners in January. <br /> Some newer model cars have telltale exterior signs that show they are unlocked, making them an easier mark for would-be thieves, he said. The thieves will either search the car for valuables, or if they’re luckier and a key fob has been left inside, they’ll just drive off with the car and its contents, he said.<br /> Highland Beach Police Chief Craig Hartmann says residents shouldn’t let their guard down — no matter what kind of car they own — when it comes to these thieves.<br /> “They’re not fussy. Obviously, they’ll take any car that has the keys in it, so it doesn’t have to be the top-echelon cars,” Hartmann said.<br /> Additional police staffing, more patrols, camera surveillance and other measures have been an increased deterrent against auto thefts and other crimes, but it’s hard to protect against owners who leave an open invitation to would-be thieves, police said.<br /> “I remember one of the folks where the car was stolen, said, ‘Where I grew up, we never locked our doors,’” Hutchins said. “That’s not a prudent thing to do in this day and age, no matter where you are.” </p></div>