In response to an increase in burglaries to motor vehicles in Columbia, officials at last Tuesday’s Columbia City Council meeting discussed an  amendment to city code that would make “handle flipping” an ordinance violation.

Columbia City Administrator Doug Brimm briefed aldermen on the topic and gave a report of a recent meeting of the Columbia Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, Monroe County State’s Attorney’s Office and Metro East Auto Theft Task Force.  

Brimm said “it was made very clear that the only vehicles that are being impacted, i.e., having the doors opened and valuables taken from inside – or actually stolen – were vehicles that were left unlocked.”

Columbia Police Chief Jason Donjon explained a common practice during such crimes is “handle flipping,” or a quick check of an unoccupied vehicle door to see if it is unlocked. If the doors are unlocked, a crime is perpetrated. If all vehicles in an area are locked, the subjects move on.

The ordinance, Brimm explained, would make it illegal to “attempt to access a vehicle” without personal ownership or owner’s permission. 

Brimm noted, and Donjon concurred, that the ordinance would allow for police discretion. For example, a person accidentally attempting to open the wrong vehicle in a crowded grocery store parking lot would not be cited.

While crediting CPD officers and the Metro East Auto Theft Task Force for their efforts, Donjon said it is “extremely frustrating” when little can be done in connection with legitimate vehicle burglary attempts. 

He added police have at times been, “for lack of a better term, handcuffed,” while investigating vehicle break-ins. 

One problem with the recent rash of break-ins is the age of the offenders. 

Donjon told the Republic-Times the CPD has encountered three separate groups consisting mostly of minors which have been suspected of involvement in vehicle burglaries and thefts in Columbia over the past 18 months.

During the city council meeting, Donjon reported  in August a group of juveniles, with one member as young as age 10, were discovered checking vehicle doors in Columbia.

He explained the age of the offenders limits the amount of time they can be held for questioning and also limits potential charges if subjects are not caught during commission of a burglary or vehicle theft. 

Donjon explained that unless a suspected juvenile is armed, in possession of stolen goods or apprehended while committing a crime, it can sometimes be difficult to make a case involving a minor hold up in court.  

If the practice of handle flipping was an ordinance violation, Donjon said it would “add another layer” for potential prosecution of offenders and would help achieve the ultimate goal of deterring vehicle break-ins. 

Donjon also said Monroe County State’s Attorney Lucas Liefer has done a great job so far and is on board with being “much more aggressive than some other counties” in prosecuting vehicle-involved crimes in Monroe County. 

“One of the best compliments (CPD) can get as a police department, and we have, is when we’re investigating crimes and people say ‘we stay out of Monroe County because we know Monroe County doesn’t mess around. They’re going to charge you. They’re going to prosecute you,’” Donjon remarked.

Ward I Alderman Doug Garmer asked if certain language should be added to include tampering with items such as truck toolboxes. 

Columbia City Attorney Terry Bruckert said the ordinance is a rare case in which he did not want details to be precise.

He added the ordinance would draw on the “reasonable person standard” for enforcement as a reason he would “rather not be too specific” in spelling out what constitutes a violation. 

If passed, Columbia would be one of the few Illinois municipalities with such a rule.

Handle flipping was made illegal in many parts of Missouri last year, including St. Louis, as a response to steadily rising vehicle-involved crime in the metro area.

Brimm said he and Bruckert found only a few places in Illinois where similar rules to prevent tampering with vehicles have been instituted. 

“I want to make one thing clear: While we are seeing an upswing in vehicle break-ins and actual motor vehicle thefts, it’s a situation in which the entire St. Louis metropolitan area is being affected,” Brimm said. “It is not a problem that is specific or unique to Columbia.”

The city council is expected to pass this new language at its March 7 meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, Columbia City Administrator Doug Brimm informed the council he had received a notice of retirement effective March 4 from Assistant to the City Administrator Sue Spargo.

Brimm noted he and Columbia Mayor Bob Hill will be working together to look at “different approaches” to hiring for unfilled city administrative positions.

Brimm continued by saying the city had “big shoes to fill,” referring to Spargo and former administrative assistant and event planner Jackie Hausmann, who retired last year. 

He added the city also has an opening for an administrative assistant in the Department of Public Works, and a city planner position budgeted for the current year has not yet been filled.   

“We’re going to see how we can fill some of those holes while still maintaining a status quo on the budgeted amounts,” Brimm concluded.

Also during the meeting, aldermen voted to reject bids for the Bolm-Schuhkraft Lion’s Pavilion replacement under advisement from Columbia City Engineer Chris Smith.

Smith reported the bids for the project were well above estimates.

The lowest bid was more than $25,000 over the budgeted amount for the project.

“Hopefully this is not a pattern we see this year,” Smith said, noting the project is not tied to other grants or funding and rejecting the bids would not interfere with separate city projects.