Don't say Math isn't useful. Tonight police crack a case. The crime is solved by crunching numbers. More than 50 victims are getting their stolen property back tonight after Port St. Lucie Police bust teens they suspect are responsible for a rash of car break-ins.

Police say the arrests were made possible after crime analysts crunched numbers. The analysts forecast hot spots. Telling police where and when the crimes may happen. And the analysts were right.
"What we do is consolidate the information,"said Cheryl Davis, a Port St. Lucie Police Crime Analyst, "We analyze, look for specific m-o's dates times, locations and then identify hot spots."

The police hot spot identified was right where Cathie Begona lives. "There is something going around. The teenagers are breaking into cars--not breaking in but opening the doors," Begona said, "We got a knock on the door at about 3 in the morning that we had been robbed."

Begona got their MP3 players back, before she knew they'd been stolen. Police in unmarked cars staked out her neighborhood after the analysts said teens were hitting that neighborhood late, most likely that night.  They arrested 2 young teens after police caught them going into unlocked cars.

"Its based on what is happening in the city. If the demographics change, right now with the economy different crimes are happening," Davis said.

What these crime analysts do is mirrored on the hit C-B-S show *Numb3rs*. Both in Hollywood and here locally, analysts use statistical data and complex probability formulas to predict and solve crimes. Police here say the numbers are not good. The data shows an uptick in property theft as gas prices continue to rise.

To view FREE episodes of NUMB3ERS, go to http://www.cbs.com/primetime/numb3rs/

http://www.cbs12.com/news/math_4708250___article.html/case_useful.html