Every time gas prices start to rise, the Eau Claire Police Department says its phones begin to ring off the hook.
Now, the department says it can't afford to respond to every gas drive-off.

We talked with officers and some pretty upset gas station owners.

The Eau Claire Police Department says this does not mean gas thieves are off the hook. Officers say they found a way to save the department time and money while still making sure gas stations get their cash.

Officer Jason Kaveney says last year, officers responded to more than 200 gas drive-offs. He says 75 percent of the time, the officer was called simply to help the gas station figure out who the car was registered to.
That way the gas station owner could contact that person and ask for the money. Kaveney says each call takes an officer off the street for a least an hour.

"That's what we molded the policy on—the large number of cases that officers are going to where nothing is being done. Is that really an efficient use of time?"

One gas station owner says yes.
The owner did not want to talk on camera because he says when the police stop responding in May, more people are going to try to drive away without paying.
He says he already deals with about 15 drive-offs every week at his five Eau Claire stations and that's costing him a lot of cash. Kaveney says he should still be able to get that money.

"What we're going to ask gas stations to do is to obtain the info through the DOT themselves by opening and account and doing inquiries. That way they can contact them themselves and not tie up officers.”

Kaveney says it will cost gas stations five dollars every time they request information from the DOT.
But, he says the department is not leaving gas stations to fend for themselves. He says if clerks notice people trying to hide their license plates or speeding away without paying, officers will still investigate and try to make an arrest.