Finding the money to pay for gas is a major part of almost everyone's budget, but local gas station owners claim more people are risking the lofty penalty and cutting the cost by driving away before they pay.
Bill Schmied, who has owned the Shell station at 3401 University Ave. for 30 years, said it is becoming more common for people to steal gas. He blames high prices for the increase in theft, saying that customers just do not want to pay when the prices are up.
""It was the worst after [Hurricane] Katrina when the prices spiked,"" Schmied said. ""It used to happen about once a day and now it's back down to once a week.""
Nick Shamsee, manager at the Mobil at 4601 Verona Rd., said the primary reason people steal gas is because they think they can easily get away with it. He also said that the police normally do very little to try and catch the thieves. According to Shamsee, ""retail theft"" occurs at least twice every day.
""We're trying to make everything pre-pay now to solve the problem,"" Shamsee said. ""I reported a couple of incidents and nothing happened.""
Schmied agreed and said the police need to take a more pro-active role in solving the problem.
""Madison police aren't really receptive to things like that,"" he said.
For the most part, gas stations in Madison abide by the honor system—customers pump their gas and are expected to go inside and pay the cashier when they are done. MPD spokesperson Mike Hanson said since the gas stations trust customers to pay inside, more of an opportunity to drive away exists.
""We saw a rise in this kind of crime when the gas prices rose, but now there are smarter employees who pay attention to license plates and car descriptions,"" Hanson said.
According to Hanson, people who drive off and are caught get charged with stealing gas or ""retail theft"". He said the penalty is a $298 citation for adults and $109 for juveniles. Multiple offenses lead to court and possibly jail time. Still, Hanson said the number of calls received in a day varies.
""Some days we get two or three calls and some days we get none,"" he said.
As for security camera footage, Hanson said gas station clerks typically review the tapes before the police arrive—if they have them. Schmied said his gas station has three security cameras, but they have yet to work effectively and thefts are rarely reported because the cashier generally does not get a sufficient description of the vehicle.
""We tell our cashiers to keep an eye on people and make sure they come in and pay,"" Schmied said. ""There's a pump that's really close to the road and so we call it the scooter-ally because it's easy to make a quick getaway.""
Shamsee said when it comes down to it, nothing really helps because the cameras and police are not solving the problem.
""The security cameras don't help because the cops don't come to investigate when you make a report,"" he said.
