http://www.freep.com/article/2009050...07038/1118/RSS

Car thieves in metro Detroit, consider yourselves warned: Law-enforcement agents from 17 organizations aim to bring you down today.

For the third day this week, area agencies are joining forces to conduct a metro-wide sweep looking for suspected car thieves, as well as convicted ones who have violated the conditions of their probation or parole.


On Tuesday and Wednesday, the agencies --including sheriff's offices in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and the Warren city police -- have arrested 63 people and recovered 59 stolen cars, officials said.


"This presents quality-of-life problems for the community," Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said at a morning news conference.


"With resources dwindling, we have to work smarter" to catch auto thieves, he added.


The Warren Police Department teemed this morning with law-enforcement agents garbed in black and poised to conduct the final day of the three-day sweep.

They showed off tools of the car thief's trade, such as jigsaws and four-way lug wrenches.


Ray Johnson, a corporal with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, said he has helped this week arrest several convicted thieves with outstanding warrants for violating their probation or parole.


"Some put up a chase," he said. "They don't want to go to prison."

Not that many end up there, Evans said. Because jails are overcrowded and the legal system is financially strapped, most car thieves won't serve time in prison until at least their fourth arrests, he said.


"It's demoralizing to officers" to see the thieves released back on the streets, Evans said, "but nobody is doing anything wrong."


Judges have to prioritize locking up violent offenders, he added, and more judges now are ordering thieves to wear GPS tethers to track their whereabouts.

Wayne County Chief Lawrence Meyer said officers have caught adults teaching teenagers how to steal cars, making it a multigenerational enterprise.

Twelve of the 63 people arrested this week have been minors, officials said.


People with information about stolen vehicles are asked to call Help Eliminate Auto Thefts, or HEAT, at 800-242-HEAT, which offers rewards ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.