uummm..... they've been in st pete... for a really long time now.
don't remember a few years ago they stole something stupid like 250 cars in less than 60 days?
stolen cars in st. pete is as big of a deal as some drugs are.
most of the tampa theives come from st. pete. we would get at least 2-3 stolen cars a week at the junkyard in south st. pete when I worked there years ago.
So it isn't anything new in St. Pete.

the best and only thing you can do to stop thieves is to A) make it a bit more of a pain to get you car with a good alarm system. It won't stop them, but if given the choice between two cars one with and one without an alarm, the one without is an easier swipe. B) make sure your alarm has a pager system so that if the car moves you'll find out now rather than a few hours later when walk out and see it gone. C) get a system like lo jack so you can immediately report it stolen, get the gps activated, and hopefully retrieve it before it gets chopped and boxed.
Beyond that, have good insurance so you can replace it when it does get stolen.
If a thief wants it, there isn't anything you can do to stop them from getting it, all you can do it attempt to get it back as soon as possible. The best revenge is getting busted red handed.