Multi-agency partnership cracks down on car thefts in St. Louis County

No cars stolen during crackdowns
Published: Dec. 3, 2022 at 10:49 PM CST

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - A multiple-agency partnership in St. Louis County is cracking down on car thefts and break-ins.

During the summer, a dozen police departments gathered to tackle the car theft problem in the St. Louis region.

Ballwin, Brentwood, Clayton, Des Peres, Creve Coeur, Frontenac, Ladue, Maplewood, Olivette, Richmond Heights, St. Louis County and Town and Country police departments are the coordinating departments.

Town and Country police chief James Cavins said the agencies carried out two details, one in mid-November and the other on Friday.

Cavins said no reports of break-ins or car thefts were reported on those days.

During Friday’s crackdown, authorities reported 93 suspicious individuals or cars were stopped by police. Five guns were recovered, two people were arrested, and five arrest warrants were cleared.

“These are property crimes being committed by violent individuals carrying weapons,” Cavins said. “The presence of uniform law enforcement officers, in and of itself, is the best crime deterrent that we have for the nature of the types of crimes we’re trying to prevent.”

Cavins said these crackdowns will continue into next year, and region-wide efforts need to be made.

In St. Louis, resident Melvia Summers had her car stolen in November. Summers has surveillance of thieves stealing her 2017 blue Chevy SS.

“They got it into neutral, and they turned the tires and pushed it off with another car. They were out there for ten minutes, and there were four of them.” Summers said. “The police department never even viewed my video because I would have been happy to share it.”

Anyone with information on car thefts are asked to call police.