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Thefts prove it's a small town no more

An increase in property crimes shows that Citrus is no longer the kind of place where residents can leave their doors unlocked.

By JOHN FRANK
Published September 18, 2006

INVERNESS - Vance Gerkovich can't find his ATM card.

He said he probably just misplaced it. But a rash of break-ins and thefts in his neighborhood off Turner Camp Road has him questioning whether the card might have been stolen.

In recent months, the Gerkovich family has reported missing a chain saw from an open shed, a canoe from the lakeshore and a digital camera from an unlocked car.

Also, a sliding glass door at their home was smashed.

"It's a nice neighborhood, and you don't expect that to happen in a nice neighborhood," Gerkovich said.

Across the county, similar property crimes are increasing at a rate that alarms Sheriff Jeff Dawsy.

During the first six months of 2006, the property crime rate was about 30 percent higher than the first half of 2005.

Dawsy acknowledged that his department "didn't do a good job in the first six months" of this year. At his direction, deputies are changing the way they patrol to address the trend.

The crimes, including burglary without force and auto theft, are minor in the scheme of things. But so are the methods to prevent them, Dawsy said.

"I'm trying to wake up Citrus County citizens," he said. "It's simple things. If I could just get people to lock their doors."

He added, "I don't think citizens take their safety seriously. They say it's just so safe here."

The Gerkovichs recently moved to Inverness from Minneapolis, where they said crime was barely a concern. Now, though, they have set up a community crime watch program in their neighborhood.

"Where I come from, you wouldn't need to lock your car," said Gerkovich's wife, Jamie. "Since moving to Florida, it's a shame, but you have to lock your car. It's a different culture."

The sheriff is also finding that the opposite is true - that people are moving from places like New York City and getting complacent about safety in this quiet, rural county of 132,000.

Dawsy has a message for residents: Citrus isn't so little anymore.

"We are not an 80,000 to 90,000 podunk town anymore," he said. "With all these issues of growth comes the possibility of crime."

It's not just newcomers who are noticing the upswing in criminal activity. Jane Weber of Dunnellon has lived here for about a decade.

Last month, she reported that someone stole gas from her car in the driveway and also damaged a rock statue in her front yard.

"We've been here 10 years," she said. "We've never had to do something like this."

CRIME FIGURES

Property crimes like thefts and non-forced break-ins decreased from 2003 to 2005, then increased slightly last year. In the first six months of 2006, these minor crimes increased about 30 percent from the first half of 2005.

Residential Burglary

First six months of 2005: 232

First six months of 2006: 264

Percent increase: 14 percent

Commercial Burglary

First six months of 2005: 69

First six months of 2006: 95

Percent increase: 38 percent

Conveyance Burglary

First six months of 2005: 134

First six months of 2006: 186

Percent increase: 39 percent

Auto Theft

First six months of 2005: 31

First six months of 2006: 52

Percent increase: 68 percent

John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or 860-7312.

[Last modified September 17, 2006, 22:31:01]