ST. LOUIS — On Tuesday, CrimeStoppers announced a new rewards program to crack down on car break-ins in downtown St. Louis.
Greater St. Louis Inc. donated $10,000 to CrimeStoppers to give to anyone who tips off a car break-in downtown. Car break-ins downtown have been more and more frequent recently. According to St. Louis Police, there have been 2,049 car break-ins reported downtown in 2022.
For many of the area's residents, the program is a welcome change. One downtown resident told 5 On Your Side her car was broken into six months ago and her belongings have still not yet been returned.
“(My) windows were smashed, personal belongings (taken)," Ashley Warren said. "You know them, kind of scavenging and looking for things that are actually worth selling.”
Warren said this program is a step in the right direction.
"Just trying to keep a closer hold on my personal belongings, that’s all I can do," she said. "I reported it to our office and again we haven’t heard anything so this is great that we actually have someone to take initiative.”
Another downtown resident who is also a former downtown parking garage manager has seen has own share of car break-ins over his career. He said he's ready to see more police presence.
“You know hopefully that will put people who are lawbreakers on notice to not do that or at least not do that here, that’s for sure,” Andy Crossett said.
This is a pilot program for CrimeStoppers. If all goes well, it could expand. At the end of the day, Crossett says these initiatives are important for the visitors of St. Louis and those who call it home.
“You come down and you wanna enjoy a ball game or you wanna enjoy a concert or something like that and then you get out to your car and it’s been smashed…that’s not the way you wanna perceive St. Louis.”