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Car thieves warned this spring break

By Times Staff
Published March 22, 2005

TAMPA - Shoppers, don't mind the horses patroling the parking lots. They are there to protect your cars and the property inside.

The Tampa Police Department this week is deploying officers on motorcycles, atop horses and in unmarked cars to catch would-be car thieves and burglars who typically target malls and shopping plazas during the spring break week when those businesses are busiest.

Officers will be in Hyde Park, along the Dale Mabry Highway shopping corridor and at International Plaza and WestShore Plaza every day through March 28, when students go back to school.

"We know they're coming because they do every year," said Sgt. Jim Contento. "So we'd be foolish not to deploy our officers this way."

Last March, there were 286 auto burglaries in the city, 82 more than in the month before.

Malls and shopping plazas are favorite targets because thieves can blend in among lots of people, and they can quickly hit several cars in a row within a few minutes, Contento said.

Operation Spring Fling, as they're calling it, is similar to an initiative the department used during the winter holidays - another time of year when criminals take advantage of packed parking lots.

The holiday sting resulted in a 70 percent drop in stolen cars and a 64 percent decrease in auto burglaries compared with the same period from the year before, according to Tampa police.

"We're just sending a message," Contento said. "Don't come here. We'll catch you."

[Last modified March 22, 2005, 01:21:16]