Rick Grenz has some advice if your car is ever stolen like his was earlier this year.
File a stolen-vehicle report right away, providing any information you have, especially if you’re lucky enough to have a camera that took photos or video of the thief.
“If there’s any chance of getting pictures, get them and post them,” Grenz said. “If you can, offer an award. Money talks.”
Though Grenz offered cash, he didn’t need it in the end. About three days after it was stolen from Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, police in Olympia recovered the 1993 Honda Accord SE that he and his wife share.
Grenz and his wife got their car back, and video footage may help convict the thief. But not everyone is so lucky and, according to data from the Vancouver Police Department and the FBI’s Unified Crime Reports, car thefts appear to be on the rise in Vancouver.
The data show that vehicle thefts in Vancouver have increased the past two years. In 2016, vehicle thefts jumped 15.6 percent from the previous year, and in 2015 they increased 6 percent — 1,007 vehicles were reported stolen in Vancouver in 2016 compared to 871 in 2015 and 821 in 2014.
In 2013, crime data show that 976 vehicles were reported stolen, so it’s normal for the total to fluctuate.
As of Oct. 31, 873 vehicles had been reported stolen to Vancouver police this year. One hundred of those thefts occurred in October. About 87 vehicles are stolen during the month of October on average, according to police data.
Although the total number could increase for a third year, Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said in an email that last year’s “motor vehicle theft frequency falls within the expected range when compared to the previous years.”
‘Limited time’ for investigations
Clayton Mosher, a professor in Washington State University Vancouver’s sociology department who focuses on criminology, said three years of increases in vehicle thefts may be due to the slowing pace at which police services are being expanded in the city.
A limited number of officers in Vancouver, as well as Clark County, means law enforcement patrolling the streets have limited time to follow up on things like property and vehicle thefts, said Mosher, who sits on the city’s Community Resources Team with other local residents who aim to help increase police hiring, among other goals.
“One of the things that came up (in resource team discussions) was thefts and auto thefts and not having enough officers to follow up on these things as quickly as they could be,” he said.
Kapp said there are many other factors that impact crime more than staffing levels — Vancouver currently has 203 sworn officers but is authorized for 208.
Those include “implementing/not implementing crime prevention, factors related to prosecution and sentencing (out of law enforcement’s control), and often limited rehabilitation/resource options for offenders who may have other mitigating factors … just to name a few,” she said.
Kapp said crime analysts at the police department regularly dig into reports to see which vehicles are most frequently stolen and determine patterns, hot spots and trends.
That analysis is used to develop the department’s auto theft prevention program. On Sunday, police handed out free steering wheel locking devices for owners of some of the most frequently stolen vehicles — Hondas, Toyotas and Subarus made between 1990 and 2000.
A ‘total inconvenience’
On the morning of Nov. 4, Olympia police called Grenz asking for permission to execute a search warrant on his Honda. He didn’t hesitate to say yes, as the car’s interior was reportedly trashed and likely had evidence they needed.
“The car stunk,” Grenz said. “There was liquid spilled all over the floor. Garbage everywhere. It was a complete mess.”
It took Grenz several hours to clean out the car. In the backseat, the alleged culprit left behind paperwork from a criminal case, Grenz said.
Jessey Lynn Palmisano, 31, has been charged with a single count of theft of a motor vehicle in Clark County Superior Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, officers identified Palmisano through video footage captured from the hospital’s garage. The video showed him driving away in the car, the affidavit says.
Palmisano was the passenger of the Honda when Olympia police pulled it over. Grenz said a woman was driving, but it’s unclear if she was charged. The court documents do not mention the driver.
The theft was a “total inconvenience,” Grenz said.
If he hadn’t driven to Olympia in the middle of the night to pick up the car with his son, the towing bill would have been $300. The alleged thief put around 700 miles on the car in about three days. Now, it could use an alignment, Grenz said, and the ignition needs to be replaced because the key was jammed inside.
Despite having to recover and clean his car, Grenz said he’s decided not to file paperwork to be reimbursed for the repairs.
“It’s already made life tough for a lot of people. The officers, myself, my wife, the person who (allegedly) had their plates swiped and put on our car. … I’m not going to bother” filing for the reimbursement, he said. “I hope the law is used to punish this guy accordingly and he can get on a better track.”
