Drive offs sparked by higher fuel costs

Steadily rising prices, worsened by Hurricane Katrina, have contributed to a marked increase in fuel theft this year in Cape Girardeau.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department investigated 205 gas thefts from January through August, averaging 22 reports a month, compared to 168 during the same time last year, said Sgt. Jason Selzer.

Though Hurricane Katrina drove gas prices just past the $3 mark for a few days, gas stations reported as of Sunday just 22 thefts in September.

"You always have drive offs," he said, but it is up to the gas station owners to keep track of the theft rates and improve security.

"They're not going to prevent it unless they have people pay before they get their gas," Selzer said.

With six locations in Cape Girardeau, Rhodes 101 reported 12 of the 22 thefts in September. Owner Jim Mauer said that he does not want to make people pay before they pump.

Paying at the pump

"I hate to do it because it is inconvenient for the customer," Mauer said. Instead, employees are required to be more aware of the customers by greeting each one as they pump. Some locations have video cameras.

When a theft occurs, it is critical to report the license plate number to the police.

"When you don't get a license plate number, there's nothing you can do," Mauer said.

Even when a license plate number is reported, investigation takes a lot of time, Selzer said. Last week, it took almost two hours to track down a plate that belonged to a man in his 90s who thought he had paid. Usually, officers take people back to the gas station that reported the theft.

"Most of the time, when we do take them back, they don't want to press charges. They just want them to pay," Selzer said.

Mauer does not press charges if they pay, he said, because 90 percent are honest forgetters. The other 10 percent either get away completely or when caught, go ahead and pay, shrugging it off as if they forgot.

"It's not an accident, these people are there to steal," Mauer said.

When charges are pressed, the gas station must prove that the customer intentionally and/or habitually stole. In nine years with the Cape Girardeau Police Department, Selzer said that he remembered only one incident in which a gas station pressed charges.

jmetelski@semissourian.com