Meeting Held Regarding Recent Uptick In Corktown Car Thefts

DETROIT (WWJ) -- Following several recent car thefts in the area, residents and business owners in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood met with police Monday night as part of a pre-scheduled meeting aimed at improving safety.

Detroit Police captain Aric Tosqui said that it is not unusual for someone to witness a car theft in progress, and not even realize it.

"When we see something like two cars pushing each other or we see some people outside pushing a car, the assumption that they're helping somebody out might not be the correct assumption -- they're probably engaged in stealing the car," Tosqui said.

Tosqui said that contrary to conventional thinking, areas like Corktown actually become safer for visitors as business and commerce grows.

"Similar to Midtown, similar to Downtown and some of the other areas that are really becoming very vibrant, one would consider it to be more target-rich -- the opposite is true," Tosqui said. "I think it really does have to do with the fact that there is that change in the culture and the change in the idea that if you're going to commit a crime here, people are going to notice and they're going to say something about it."

Despite the recent rash of car thefts, break-ins and what he called "higher profile" property crimes, Tosqui said that overall crime in Corktown -- including violent crime -- is down.