Prince George's Car Thieves Also Steal Sense of Control

Victims Say Lives Are Upended, and They Feel Unsafe

Frederick Beverly was among the multitudes lined up at the "tags" window at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration office in Upper Marlboro when Doris Carey and Melanie Tyree, waiting to turn in their license plates, struck up a conversation.

His car had been stolen, he told the women. "From right in front of my house."

"Umph, umph, umph," Carey said in disgust.

"They are bold, all right," Tyree chimed in. "These kids just don't care."

Tyree could sympathize. Her teenage son's car was recently stolen from right in front of their Landover home.

Beverly's sojourn at the MVA was his second in eight months. Twenty-one hours before, his seafoam green 1998 Mercury Sable had been snatched from his home on Merritt Street in District Heights. Last August, his dark green 1995 Toyota Camry was taken from his driveway.

He and Tyree are among a crowd of fellow sufferers in a county that has more car thefts than all the state's other jurisdictions combined. Last year, 18,485 vehicles were stolen in Prince George's County, and 4,553 have been stolen so far this year. The county also leads the state in carjackings.

The county's car theft rate has become a political issue. Rushern L. Baker III, a former state delegate who is a possible Democratic candidate for county executive, called a news conference last week to highlight the statistics. County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) countered by noting that the number so far in 2005 was down 16 percent from the same period last year and citing his anti-car theft initiatives.

Each of those thefts brings its own particular set of dilemmas to the victims.

Immediately after finding his car missing, Beverly contacted the police, who went to his home and took a report. Then he traveled the length of his street, inquiring about lurking strangers and alerting his neighbors.

After he left the MVA on Day Two, he went to his insurance agent to cancel his coverage. Then he contacted his cell phone carrier to see whether anyone had used the phone left in the glove compartment.

Everywhere, he and other victims are required to show proof of ownership. And they often must dip into leave time at work to get it all done, as Beverly did.