ST. LOUIS — "It's so much lawlessness. They just feel like they're untouchable and they're not gonna get caught," said Alderwoman Pam Boyd of the 27th Ward in north St. Louis.
Boyd is talking about the bold burglars who are crisscrossing the city and committing smash-and-grabs in St. Louis.
"These are teenagers. Yes, I think they are all connected. I think it's some kind of partnership. Some kind of recruitment for these youth and I think someone is over them," said Alderwoman Boyd.
So far, police have not confirmed that.
What is clear, in the past three weeks security cameras caught burglars smashing glass doors with bricks or concrete cinder blocks.
The fast-moving criminals raced around the restaurants, bars and shops and stole cash registers, money and safes.
"We have the cameras. We have the area systems. We have everything and it's not stopping them," said Pam Boyd.
Businesses in north and south St. Louis, the Central West End and even downtown have all been hit.
During the overnight break-ins, the burglars wore hooded sweatshirts and gloves and covered their faces with masks.
In some cases, the burglars were armed with guns.
"Any loss is a loss regardless of the scale that it's on," said Paul Jackson, the owner of The Princes Collection in north city.
Jackson's shop was one of six the burglars hit around midnight Friday.
Alderwoman Boyd says citizens must help the under-staffed St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department keep an eye out for the burglars before the thieves strike again.
"We can't look for the police to be a solo act and ride around and save us. We can't do that. They can't do that by themselves. We all play a role because it's our community," added the concerned alderperson.
Fortunately, no one has been hurt in any of the crimes.
However, as the break-ins keep rising, so do Alderwoman Pam Body's fears.
"It's gonna be an owner in the store that they didn't anticipate and the owner's either gonna kill one of those burglars or they're gonna kill the owner and that's my biggest fear," said Pam Boyd.