The price of gas isn’t the only thing rising. Several local gas stations have filed reports of gas theft over the past few weeks.
Gas theft, also known as gas drive offs, can become more common as gas prices rise. According to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, gas prices went up 7.3 cents a gallon, making the price of gas 71.9 cents per gallon higher than 2007.
However, Capt. Tom Stofer of the Auburn Police Department said while the price of gas can be a contributing factor to theft, it is important to note theft of this nature occurred prior to escalated prices.
Stofer said on average he receives one or two reports a week and has recently received four or five.
Hal Smith, owner of Big Cat in Opelika, said there have been several incidences of gas drive offs at his station for 2008.
“Primarily the problem with us is that we have a pay at the pump system and sometimes people think they paid for the gas and they didn’t or they put the card in backwards.”
Smith said there have been occasions when they have been busy and forgot to acknowledge the beep the automated system makes for payment approval.
Some gas station owners have switched to a pre-pay system in an effort to protect their businesses from gas theft.
However, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores, gasoline theft still remains a $100 million dollar problem, despite owners’ switch to pre-pay.
Smith said, while the pre-pay system will lessen the likelihood of theft, it will also deter customers.
“Some people don’t like the pre-pay; they rather just stay outside and pump and then come in and pay for it.”
But for those who don’t come in and pay for it, the penalty can be harsh.
According to section 13 A-8-170 of the Alabama Criminal Code, leaving premises of gasoline sales establishment without remitting payment is punishable by a fine of not more than $6000 or not more than one year in prison.
Stofer said the state of Alabama is showing its low tolerance for gas theft by classifying it under the most serious level of misdemeanors.
“This particular criminal code is automatically a Class A misdemeanor so it does not depend on the amount of gas stolen; it strictly depends on whether you stole the gas or not,” Stofer said.
“It doesn’t matter if you pump your tank full or just put five bucks in there, if you stole the gas, you are looking at a Class A misdemeanor.”
According to the Alabama Criminal Code, any second or subsequent offense will result in having your driver’s license suspended for a period of six months. A third offense will result in license suspension for a year.
Despite the millions of dollars lost each year to gas theft, some gas stations do not raise prices to cover the loss.
“You can’t price yourself out of business, Smith said. “We look at the competition when considering the pricing.”
Smith said he believes because his station is a family organization, they experience less theft than a gas station located in a more transient place.
“Most of our customers we see over and over again, as high as 95 percent of our customers are repeat customers,” Smith said.
