Thread: With auto theft heavy at border, DPS touts sticker program

With auto theft heavy at border, DPS touts sticker program

September 24, 2012 10:48 PM
Jacqueline Armendariz
The Monitor

The crime began as an auto theft, but ended with a teen shot in the arm several days ago, causing a stir at the international bridge in Pharr.

All the while, the owner of the stolen truck had no clue it was gone, according to police.

Law enforcement agencies on the border know there’s a strong possibility that individuals eyeing vehicles to steal will take their crime international. That in mind, the Texas Department of Public Safety continues to push a little-known program that’s been in place for years: Help End Auto Theft, or HEAT.

“Why do you think they take pickup trucks?” said Trooper Johnny Hernandez, DPS spokesman. “Because that’s what they use to haul all their drugs.”

Stolen vehicles are prime tools used to commit other crimes, he said, including the transport of immigrants. But he also sees a common problem here when people exit their car and leave it running, he said. That’s a violation of law and an easy target for thieves.

The DPS HEAT program is free of charge. Owners must apply for a HEAT car decal with DPS, which may not be reused because they are unique to each vehicle and associated with license plates.

Individuals have several options to choose from when they enroll. A yellow rectangular decal signals that authorities anywhere in Texas should stop the car between the hours of 1 and 5 a.m. — prime time for auto theft.

Of particular interest to those living on the border, a white rectangular decal indicates law enforcement should stop the car during those same hours and anytime the car is used in an attempt to cross into Mexico. A third, white, round decal simply indicates a vehicle’s information has been filed in the HEAT database.

In 2005, one-third of recorded vehicle thefts occurred in the four states that border Mexico – California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2010, more than 68,000 cars were stolen in Texas.

The DOJ report, which states concrete numbers are difficult to ascertain, notes that research suggests 80 percent to 90 percent of the vehicles stolen from Texas’ border cities end up in Mexico.

This past April, the HEAT program had 15,479 cars registered, with the peak number of inquiries into the database in January at 10,307.

DPS said the current statewide number of vehicles registered with HEAT is 14,439, but county numbers were not immediately available.

The numbers for statewide auto theft differ dramatically when compared to HEAT data.

The peak number of car thefts so far for 2012 came in May with 6,749 stolen and 5,777 recovered – or about 86 percent, according to HEAT data from DPS. Recovery numbers are lower along the border, according to the DOJ report.
Meanwhile, the peak number of HEAT cars stolen, according to available 2012 data, was in March, when just three were taken; that same month, four stolen vehicles were recovered. The report is careful to note that a direct correlation between HEAT and recovery numbers in not possible because the “reason” for recoveries is not measured.

Hernandez said the HEAT program could use more attention from citizens who want to protect their vehicles.
“I think it's something that needs to be utilized more, especially close to the border,” he said. “I don't even know if they’re aware of it to be honest with you.”

BORDER BRIDGES

The departments policing the Rio Grande Valley’s small towns that are home to international bridges, such as Weslaco and Hidalgo, also acknowledge the problem of stolen vehicles being crossed into Mexico, but neither has a HEAT liaison.

A Pharr police spokeswoman did not return request for comment for this story.

Julian Guzman, interim chief of Hidalgo police, said his department assists McAllen police and other departments at the bridge to intercept stolen cars.

“It's working out pretty good right now,” he said.

Hidalgo officers are stationed at the toll house all day, every day, looking for suspicious cars – particularly those driven by young people, Guzman said.

In the case of the Pharr shooting, the driver was a Mexican teen. The DOJ report notes that research suggests minors often steal cars and describes large organized theft rings known as “frontera-rings.” The organizations rely upon Mexican youths who are brought to border cities to steal cars.

Federal and state grants have helped Hidalgo PD police their bridge, Guzman said, as part of Operations Border Star and Stonegarden.

“It’s unpredictable what happens, but we got to always be on the defensive side with vehicles going south,” he said.

Weslaco police spokesman JP Rodriguez recalled an auto theft last month that could have turned deadly. He said a suspect fled in a Ford F-350 truck, speeding down Expressway 83 against the flow of traffic to escape police.

Eventually, Rodriguez said, the suspect lost control of the truck and crashed into a cement barrier.

“That’s one of the things that’s so dangerous about an auto theft: It can escalate, especially when we catch up to the vehicle,” he said. “The vehicle itself can be used as a deadly weapon. That’s what makes it scary.”

Rodriguez said he encourages the public to enroll in HEAT and consider the purchase of a secondary security device to deter thieves, who look for the path of least resistance when trying to steal a car.

“For every crime, there's a victim and a perpetrator, and in between is an opportunity,” he said, explaining that vehicle owners can put the odds in their own favor.

A strong demand exists for stolen vehicles from the U.S. in Mexico, the DOJ report notes, but vehicle theft is not a high priority for law enforcement when they must also address drug smuggling and human trafficking.

“It’s important that people remember: It’s because of our close proximity to the border there's always going to be that issue,” Rodriguez said of auto theft.

Regarding the Pharr shooting, Trooper Hernandez, who has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, said such a decision must be made by officers in a split second.

DPS, he said, always puts the public’s safety first and often utilizes their helicopters when a car chase occurs in order to lessen the danger.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” he said.
--With auto theft heavy at border, DPS touts sticker program | auto, border, theft - TheMonitor.com

SEE ALSO:

http://www.alipac.us/f12/mexican-aut...market-264375/

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f12/mexican-aut...market-264375/