Fewer cars stolen since police set up at bridges
By Louie Gilot / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 12/26/2007 12:00:00 AM MST


An El Paso police officer watches vehicles on the southbound lanes of the Bridge of the Americas. (Victor Calzada / El Paso Times)Stealing cars in a border city can be easy. In minutes, thieves can drive a vehicle across the border and disappear into Mexico.
El paso police think they have found a way to close that method of escape.

For the past 15 weeks, police posted officers at El Paso's three international bridges for regular southbound checks. While police had conducted such checks in the past, they were sporadic. A $600,000 state grant under Operation Border Star, a border security initiative, allowed police to be a regular presence at the bridges for almost four months. The program ended last week.

Police officials said the program helped the city slightly decrease auto thefts at the end of 2007 compared with the beginning of the year.

"It has had a successful impact on the city. I hope we can continue next year," said Police Chief Richard Wiles, who is applying for more state money to continue the program next year. The grants pay for overtime for officers to conduct registration checks at the bridges.

During the program, police checked 87,000 cars, issued 5,000 citations and made 36 arrests, including eight for unauthorized use of a vehicle. The rest of the arrests were for traffic and other warrants.

Wiles said many cars were not stolen in the first place because of the conspicuous police presence at the bridges.

Car thieves "usually send scouts to the bridges to see if the coast is clear. If they see us, they will abandon the cars or not steal them," Wiles said.

Lt. Marc Medina, commander of the Auto Theft Task Force, said the year did not start well for El Paso car owners.
Police statistics show that during the first eight months of the year, about 10 percent more cars were stolen than in the same period last year -- an additional 179 cars stolen.

But in September, when the bridge operation began, there was a 14 percent decrease compared with September 2006; in October, a 32 percent decrease compared with October 2006; and in November, a 43 percent decrease compared with November 2006. The year ended with a 1 percent reduction in the theft rate, from 2,960 stolen cars in 2006 to 2,931 in 2007.

Business leaders said during a meeting with state officials in October that they feared that the southbound checks would create lines that would clog El Paso streets around the bridges.

Wiles said his officers were mindful not to let the lines grow.

He explained that officers did not check every car. They stopped groups of cars, checked every car in the group and then let traffic flow again.

Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com; 546-6131.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_7807165