Treat car thefts with the seriousness they deserve

Two things need to happen to curb the rise in car thefts that are endangering Milwaukee’s streets, one simple and one complex. The simple thing is that drivers need to stop leaving their keys in their cars. The complex thing is that local authorities need to develop a new strategy that includes tougher penalties for those, especially juveniles, who steal cars.

Car thefts are not a minor problem, as the recent tragic deaths of Bernie and Tina Hanson in a hit-and-run crash involving a stolen SUV attest. Police say car thefts are “gateway” crimes that can open the door to more serious illegal activities, and that authorities need to stop looking at them as mere property crimes. They are serious actions that deserve serious consequences.

Drivers can help by not leaving keys in their cars. On a recent day, 20 of 22 reported thefts involved people leaving their keys in their cars. Warming up the car on a brutally cold day is nice, but it’s not worth losing the car.

As the Journal Sentinel reported Sunday, auto thefts had been declining in Milwaukee until 2014. They had dropped 54% from the first half of 2007 to the first half of 2013. But the first six months of last year showed a nearly 70% increase in reported auto thefts and attempted thefts over the previous year. After a series of arrests last fall, the rate slowed, and the department ended with about a 52% increase year-to-year — from 4,385 in 2013 to 6,657 in 2014.

Police Chief Edward Flynn suggested to us Thursday that a combination of careless drivers, a larger than normal population of youths (the average age of youths arrested for operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent is 14) and the realization that stealing a car does not result in a serious penalty may be to blame for the surge.

That sounds right; we doubt the hike has much to do with a policy initiated in 2010 that requires higher standards for police pursuits. There were more thefts in 2006 (8,437) and 2007 (7,726) before the policy was in place and fewer thefts in the period after it was initiated. Furthermore, police pursuits can in themselves become dangerous, threatening the safety of other drivers and pedestrians.

Flynn and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett have argued for a new strategy that includes treating juvenile offenders more seriously. They are right to do so.

The 18-year-old driver of the stolen SUV who has been charged in the accident that took the lives of the Hansons was described by Flynn as a “poster boy” for the challenge of addressing repeat offenders in the juvenile justice system. Michael Hobbs was put on probation for driving a stolen truck last summer and had a warrant out for his arrest for driving a stolen minivan. Two teen male passengers in the SUV had multiple prior arrests and, like Hobbs, are associated with the so-called Cut Throat Mob, a vehicle theft group.

Barrett has called for the Milwaukee Community Justice Council to take up the problem of auto theft as soon as possible. We’re told that the council is expected to meet next week, and we hope that it can begin to identify what changes are needed in the system to curb the number of repeat offenders. That may require changes in state laws, as well, a city spokesman told us. If so, state legislators need to provide those changes.

Drivers need to do the simple thing and protect their cars from theft. But state and local authorities need to do the more complex things to hold juveniles — and themselves — accountable for what really are serious crimes.