Centennial State News

Heidi Ganahl, the Republican nominee for governor of Colorado, pointed to Gov. Jared Polis' policies as contributing to an increase in crime in Colorado, after a new report from Denver City Wire found that car thefts in Colorado have skyrocketed and are significantly higher than the national average.

According to a new report from Denver City Wire, there were more car thefts in Colorado last year than in any other state in the country, based on data from the Colorado Department of Public Safety. The rate of motor vehicle theft in Colorado almost doubled between 2019 and 2021, surging from 377 to 637 per 100,000 residents. The rate of carjacking in the state is more than double the national average of 246 per 100,000 residents, according to the report.

"Colorado is 47th in total crime – down from 25th in 2015 before Polis took office," Ganahl said. "Only three states have a worse problem with crime than we do. Law enforcement experts blame Jared Polis' soft-on-crime policies for having emboldened criminals. Polis does not include law enforcement in discussions on how to fix our soaring crime rates. Their pleas fall on deaf ears. Polis' own attorney general says car theft isn't a serious problem until someone steals their third car. Criminals feed off poor leadership. We need a governor who will restore law and order and support law enforcement."

Law enforcement organizations wrote a letter trying to raise awareness of plans to fight carjacking. 

"The General Assembly has passed several bills, which you have signed into law, that make crime prevention more difficult, and prioritize offenders over victims and public safety," according to the letter, which was sent from the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, Colorado Fraternal Order of Police and County Sheriffs of Colorado. "The inability to arrest and hold offenders results in offenders continuing to commit criminal acts, often escalating the severity of their crimes, and putting victims in fear of becoming revictimized."

Almost 37,000 cars were stolen in Colorado last year, and Colorado State Police predict that thieves will steal almost 44,000 vehicles this year, which would result in $425 million in financial losses for individual Coloradans – triple the amount of losses taken on during 2018. At a local level, 100 cars are stolen in the Denver metro area on average each day, with one car stolen every hour in the city of Denver, according to the report. 

Five of Colorado's cities are among the 10 worst for car thefts in the U.S., according to a ranking by QuoteWizard.com. Denver's rate of car theft is 520% greater than the national average, with 1,285 vehicles stolen every year per 100,000 people. Aurora is ranked third worst, with 1,035 vehicles stolen each year per 100,000 people. 

Westminster is fifth worst, with a rate of 934 stolen cars annually per 100,000 residents. Pueblo is seventh worst, with 869 stolen vehicles per 100,000 residents each year, and Lakewood came in at ninth worst, with 748 stolen cars per 100,000 residents annually. 

Some officials within the Polis administration have tried to put the blame on the pandemic or on car owners themselves for the increase in thefts, according to the report. A report from Colorado's Auto Theft Intelligence Coordination Center states "the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent efforts by state and local governments to mitigate the spread of the disease are evident" causes of the rise in motor vehicle thefts, because vehicles were "left parked" and unattended and therefore were vulnerable to theft.