Palm Beach police work to stem stolen cars as number passes 2022 total

It happens in a matter of seconds.

A black Mercedes-Benz sedan pulls into the driveway of a home in Palm Beach. Two men jump out and rush toward a Ram pickup. They pull the door handles. One climbs into the driver’s seat and the other rushes back to the Mercedes.

The two vehicles drive away.

And just like that, the Ram has been stolen, in less than a minute.

The incident, captured in a surveillance video provided to the Palm Beach Daily News by the Palm Beach Police Department, delivers a shocking example of just how quickly cars are stolen every day in South Florida — and why the problem is so prevalent.

The number of cars stolen in Palm Beach as of Nov. 13 was 21, surpassing the total from the previous year —17 — just as the island's social season begins, police said.

More: SUV fleeing Palm Beach police smashes into Flagler Bridge gates

“The department prides itself on proactive enforcement, and we prevent a lot of car thefts,” Palm Beach Police spokesman Capt. Will Rothrock said. “That being said, we cannot be everywhere at once, and unlocked vehicles with keys inside are easy and quick to steal.”

The number of stolen cars on the island has steadily risen over the past few years, from 16 in 2021, to 17 in 2022, and now 21, according to police records.

“I’m hopeful that those numbers will go down as the community becomes more and more sensitive to securing their vehicles,” Rothrock said. “We’re hopeful that with public education and with the assistance of the Daily News and the Civic Association and the Police Foundation, that people will get into this feeling where, ‘I know I’m safe and this is a safe community, but I can’t leave very valuable things unsecured.’”

More: Palm Beach police warn residents to lock their cars after BMW is stolen

Police also have recovered many of those cars: 15 in 2021, 12 last year and 13 this year, as of the beginning of November.

“We work quickly after a theft to recover a vehicle and make arrests where possible,” Rothrock said, noting that police Chief Nicholas Caristo directs investigators to seize vehicles used by those who come to the island to steal cars.

The groups that target affluent areas including Palm Beach typically use a higher-end vehicle that looks like it would blend in without drawing too much attention, Rothrock said.

He pointed to a recent incident in the town where on Nov. 6, officers spotted a red BMW SUV that was believed to be involved in incidents involving stolen cars, Rothrock said. When police tried to stop the SUV, the driver sped away, leading officers on a chase through town and over the Flagler Memorial Bridge, where the BMW's driver smashed through the bridge's closed gate arms while going east in the westbound lanes, Rothrock said.

The SUV was later recovered in Broward County, and the investigation is ongoing, he said.

The three most frequently stolen cars in Palm Beach are Land Rovers, followed by Mercedes-Benz vehicles, with a tie for third between BMWs and Porsches, Rothrock said.

Recently, South Florida also has seen an increased "interest" from prospective thieves looking for Cadillac Escalade SUVs, he said. Investigators have noticed that more Escalades are being targeted, and that when they arrest someone who is involved with stealing cars, that person might have several Escalade keys with them, Rothrock said.

"All these vehicles are higher-end vehicles that have value," he said. "A lot of these cars, these organized groups will ultimately re-VIN or ship overseas or resell somewhere else."

The would-be thieves are able to quickly identify which vehicles might be unlocked by looking at their sideview mirrors, he said. On newer high-end vehicles, the sideview mirrors will tuck in toward the car when locked. If the sideview mirrors are out, that is a fast indicator to criminals that the car is unlocked, Rothrock said.

"And then it's just a matter of statistics as to whether or not there's a key fob in it or close enough to start it," he said. "If you're driving down the street, getting out of a car, getting into an unlocked car and pushing a button is certainly quick, and at that point, it's just driving away."

There are ramifications beyond the cars that are stolen, Rothrock said. As in the case of the red BMW that fled from officers Nov. 6, those who come to town to steal cars could cause other kinds of damage or put people in harm's way, he said.

"These people that are stealing these cars, that are associated with these criminal groups, are unsavory characters," Rothrock said. "They're dangerous. They're violent. They've been stopped on several occasions and have firearms with them."

These are people who do not have a high regard for their own safety or the safety of others, he said.

"If a criminal group knows that there is a high likelihood of being able to quickly obtain a high-end vehicle that's unlocked with the keys in it from a particular area — and this isn't just the town of Palm Beach — this is other areas as well, then they'll look for that area," Rothrock said.

To help curb the number of stolen cars, Caristo launched a burglary strike force, and the department has used plainclothes officers and unmarked cars to patrol the island while working with other agencies to track trends and share information, Rothrock said.

People who see something suspicious should call 911 in an emergency, or call the police department's non-emergency line at 561-838-5454, he said, adding that even if people aren't sure about what they have seen, it's better to be safe than sorry.

"I would rather go to 15 calls that were nothing, and someone just thinking something was out of place, if I was able to stop one crime from occurring that was legitimate," Rothrock said.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach Police work to prevent car thefts as number passes 2022 total