Colorado continues to lead the nation in motor vehicle thefts and shows no sign of that changing anytime soon, according to a recent report by the Common Sense Institute.
Since 2019, the state's motor vehicle theft rate has increased by 120.6%. Through the first half of 2022, thefts have increased by another 17.2% compared to the same time period in 2021.
With 4,007 vehicle thefts per month, Colorado is expected to exceed 48,000 thefts this year, an all-time high.
In Longmont, vehicle thefts more than doubled from 2016 to 2020, from 163 thefts to 406, according to the FBI Crime Index. Car thefts were slightly down in 2021 compared to 2020 at 382, or just under four offenses per 1,000 people in Longmont.
According to the Community Crime Map, there have been 161 car thefts in Longmont from January to June of this year. There were 156 thefts reported over that same time period in 2021, making the number of car thefts on track with the previous year.
Boulder and Mesa counties were the only Colorado counties in which the motor vehicle theft rate declined this year relative to the first six months of 2021, according to the Common Sense Institute report, down 11.5% in Boulder County.
Denver, Aurora, Westminster and Pueblo combined account for more than half of all vehicles stolen in Colorado during the first quarter of 2022. About 3% of all motor vehicles stolen statewide were reported stolen at Denver International Airport.
The report pointed out that arrest rates per motor vehicle thefts statewide is at 9.4%, down from 15.5% in 2019. Just over two-third of stolen vehicles are recovered in the state.
Car thieves are also outpacing police, according to the report. In 2021, arrests for motor vehicle thefts increased by 13.4% while the number of car thefts increased by 17.3%.
According to the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority, the cars most likely to be stolen in Colorado are the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado Truck, 2004 Ford F-250, 2000 Honda Civic, 1997 Honda Accord, 2017 Hyundai Sonata, 2015 Kia Optima, 2005 GMC Sierra, 2017 Kia Sportage, 2006 Ford F-350 and 2017 Hyundai Tucson.
