Car Stolen in Anchorage? Enter Floyd the Thief Chaser

Unemployment and addiction have been around in Alaska for decades. Boom and bust. The biggest issue that can be readily addressed is the change in prosecution. When you know stealing a car, breaking into a home or store, or vandalism will result in no prosecution or punishment, what is the deterrence.? This progressive change to enforcement of laws is mis-guided. Anyone that has been a victim can tell you this fact. We have recidivism rates that are a joke for these 'non-violent' crimes. I'd like to know who gets to define non-violence. Why do progressives believe that average citizen deserves nothing for his adherence to the laws, but those that do break the laws and destroy the security of hard working people deserve no punishment at all? Where were these people raised and what is their vision for society? If they think that not punishing people that break the law somehow changes that person into a law abiding citizen, they are insane.

Good for him. An HG Wells book told of a time traveler who went into the future. There were two races. The peace loving Eloi and the disgusting Morlocks, who preyed on the Eloi. The Eloi were taught to never fight back or ask about friends or family who had gone. The majority of the Western people are now trained to be Eloi. Just hoping they will not be robbed or murdered but never fighting back.

GOOD FOR FLOYD HALL - I'll get behind him every time as opposed to those cellphone crime fighters who film the police , hoping that the police do something they think is "inappropriate".

"Now property crimes have spiked in the Anchorage area, where a majority of Alaskans live, even as such offenses have been declining for the nation as a whole, federal figures show." I am convinced that the purported declines are merely a result of newly savvy cities that find a way not to report certain crimes so that their cities seem more desirable. Alaskans are standing up for themselves, while many in other states simply live lives as chickens waiting to be plucked.

Truly the Wild West.

AK SB 91 was designed to save money in the prison system, reducing the burden on Alaska taxpayers. It essentially privatized the cost of crime, placing more costs on crime victims, rather than spreading the cost over all taxpayers. How's that "small, limited government" thing workin' out for you, Alaska?

Good article but the writer missed the biggest reason for the crime in Alaska, SB91 and it's failure. I feel for all the unassuming tourist headed our way that have no idea they are going to be at risk. Risk that their car might get stolen and they should lock away any belongings. BTW.....we ARE afraid to walk around in our city. We no longer walk in our parks or go out at night to photograph the aurora. You want the real story......look into the laws that were changed in July 2016. A citation for stealing a car. Dig a little deeper....and when you figure out WHY our state chose to let crime take over......let the people of Alaska know. We are actually dying to know :(

I like the bit about the thief flagging a lift by waving a $20 dollar bill, to get the heck away from a lecture on “accountability.” It sounds very Northern Exposure. At the core of this quirky story is sadness, though. Petty crimes like these are increasing for a reason. Drug addiction is changing our society in so many ways.

This is ridiculous. Since when is vigilantism acceptable or admirable? I well understand the need to take care of oneself in places where there's no-one to rely on but you. But that's a far cry from becoming a self-deputized posse of one.

Of course, this will all come to a screeching halt when Trump finishes his beautiful wall.

They'll have fun until they kill someone.

This is not new - http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-13393665

"A 20-hour trip (from Anchorage) to the capital, Juneau, still leaves you inside state borders." Er, no. If you plug ANC and JNU into Mapquest or your smart-phone app, you'll get 20 to 22 hours. But only if you drive into Canada, drive back into the USA for 760 road miles, perfectly make a sailing of the Alaska Marine Highway ferry which only sails 3 times a week, pay $153 in the off-season (more in the summer), pass through TSA to get onto the ferry and then you're in a smaller city and need to get back somehow - either through TSA at the airport after paying airfare or, what?, back on the ferry and hitchhike through the USA, Canada and USA back to ANC?!? You see, people steal cars (1) to drive around town and later abandon it or (2) to make money. You don't make money by spending $130 on gasoline, $153 on the ferry, $200 on airfare, and 3 days in transit all to have a stolen car in a different, smaller city.

The reduction in penalties for property crime is done with good intentions. People with records have a harder time getting housing and jobs. They often have drug addictions that fuel the crime spree. But there’s a point at which it’s difficult to be sympathetic. A career burglar recently hit the home of someone I know and stole thousands in electronics and other property. The burglar was caught largely through the investigative efforts of my friend and his family. The burglar was sentenced to three years in prison, of which he will end up doing less than three months. He also never said where he stashed the loot, so he will probably get to keep what he stole. He has a record stretching back to the 90s in multiple states.

This article suggests you can drive to Juneau, but you can't. Not in 20 hours, not at all. This has allowed our state government to be isolated during session from its constituents. They propose an income tax while our governor pushes an expensive gas line. The bill changing some of our penalties has resulted with a catch and release program that means a thief can get away with a lot before anything kicks in. To add to the economic woes, first the governor then our Senate and House have reduced our dividends while failing to reduce spending that stands as one of the highest state government costs per capita in the nation. Our government needs to set better priorities out vigilantism may become a repeated reality.

Things have gotten pretty bad in Anchorage, in stride with the recession. Huge dichotomy of wealth there though. Those lucky to have jobs with the city, (cops/fire/water) receive a very fair paycheck, live in the better neighborhoods or escape to the burbs of Eagle River and beyond. Living at the bottom rungs however, leaves you with substandard housing (tons of trailer parks) in a city that doesn't have a lot of employment options as we are a two and one half sector town:Oil, healthcare, retail with a little tourism thrown in. Throw in our countercyclical economy, and therein lies the brewing crisis. We have also seen an uptick in drug overdose deaths, thanks to availability of heroin and fentanyl. And yes, petty crime is out of control. This according to many friends and family members we have there. SB91 change has weakened the arm of the legal system for sure. This, probably viewed as a cost saving measure in a time of fiscal restraint. I had credit cards stolen from my car, used the next morning( over$2000 was charged). Did my own police work, and with the help of a gas station manager, identified through license plate the crooks. Gave info to APD, got reimbursed from banks- stores got paid by my banks credit card system, and guess what? Nothing happened. In a system like that, there is no deterrence for the crooks. The specialness of the great land is unique. It is quite palpable to those who come and stay to make a life there. It ain't easy if you're down and out.

Anchorage has seen an increase in gang-banger types from the Lower 48 in the last few years; they walk and look at folks differently. It's definitely feeling more urban dangerous, in places it's a bit like the NYC that I remember from the 60s when I was growing up. It may be politically incorrect to say so, but it used to be that anyone black around here was from a former military family who decided to stay and were pretty consistently good, intelligent people. The newcomers are something else. And the bad newcomers are all colors.

Yes, individual actions sound risky, but also sound like a step or two back in time, to when most people naturally did more for themselves. Economists tell us that specialization and outsourcing increase productivity, and paternalistic government offers to care (and control) of us. Glad to see that a few people are still motivated and capable.

I can't imagine this will end up well.

A similar thing is happening in San Francisco. Soft-on-crime "progressives" reduced the penalty for property crimes recently and now car break-ins have exploded into an epidemic. Much of the loot is bought and sold in the nearby homeless camps but it is not politically correct to harass them.

It sounds like Elmore Leonard meets Hallmark.

See something/say something has morphed into see something/do something. We need good guys who seem to be willing to damn the liabilities. As it is there are too many people hidind - and trying to hide - the things they do. I'll take the guys doing it in the open over the people who hide, and the bad guys, most any day.

Floyd means well, but chasing car thieves at high speed through neighborhoods is a recipe for disaster. He only needs to hit one person or animal and the community will be up in arms.

Juneau is accessible by boat or plane only. So driving to Juneau can’t happen unless you buy a ferry ticket or ship by barge. My Mom’s car was stolen ten years ago and found by her insurance agent driving around town until he found it. Juneau has had a opioid epidemic, with many overdoses the last several years. The petty crime that goes along with drug addiction has gotten worse.

What our leftist leaning police chief fails to elaborate on is the absolute disaster of a crime bill, SB91, which had bipartisan support that essentially turns these car thieves loose the same day they are arrested so the can steal more cars. It's do idiotic that the judge cannot take into account pending cases or out of state convictions when determining their risk to the community and ends up being forced to let them go.

That 20 hour drive to Juneau, referenced in this article, is complicated by the fact that one cannot drive all the way to Juneau. One can drive to Skagway or Haines, and take a five hour ferry ride to Juneau. There is no direct road connection. The chances of being detected at the border crossings, and at the ferry terminal, make taking a stolen car out of the country on the way to Juneau a dicey proposition.

Let's all hope that this vigilante trend never makes it to the lower 48. We already have enough issues down here with guns, with crime and with the antics of would-be heroes.

Floyd is a low key, unassuming person. That is good, considering the things he has dealt with.