Topeka crime is higher than almost 60 percent of capital cities its size.
But police Chief Ron Miller says Topeka may really fall much lower on that list. 13's Lindsay Shively explains why it's all in how cities report their numbers.

Seven out of twelve capital cities our size have a lower crime rate. It's not violent crime, but Topeka's property crime that brings up our average... property crimes like gas station drive offs.

What's happening at places like this.. may be "pumping up" Topeka's crime numbers. "People driving off without paying for gas seems to be part of the problem." Police Chief Ron Miller says property crime reports in Topeka include every reported incidence of gas-station drive offs.

"I don't know that other cities are reporting gasoline drive offs as a theft." As a result -- he says Topeka's crime rate may appear unfairly higher than other cities-- but he's not making excuses. "We don't need to change our reporting, we need to reduce crime."

Switching to pre-pay pump systems may be one way to do that...."We were just tired of the drive-offs." The owners of Kelly Express say drive-offs have cost them thousands over the years. This Coastal Mart saw problems last year. "We had two or three."

Now they only allow regular customers to pay after they pump. But Haag Oil, which owns eleven Topeka gas stations, says it will not require complete pre-pay at their locations.

They say drive-offs aren't a problem. Miller says stations without prepay could be easy targets for thieves. "Become a more difficult victim, don't be an easy victim, and we can reduce crime."

One station, owned by haag oil, only has pre-pay between seven p.m and seven a.m. Miller expects with more and more pre-paid stations in Topeka, that next year's numbers will be lower.