Posted on 12/12/2022 9:05:31 AM PST by george76
Car thefts in Colorado are on track to outpace every other state in the country for a second straight year, and public safety experts say the crimes are also growing more violent.
Driving the news: Just over a week ago, a Denver officer was shot in the back of the neck after apprehending a suspect who allegedly stole a car.
A Denver man accused of stealing a Jeep on Sunday in Lakewood crashed the vehicle into an ambulance, injuring four people — including two firefighters. The man later told police he was forced by a female passenger to drive the vehicle at gunpoint.
A month earlier, an officer in Lafayette was shot in the leg at a gas station by a suspect in a stolen car. The alleged shooter was killed by police gunfire in the front seat.
What they're saying: Criminals appear emboldened, intentionally firing guns and smashing into vehicles to distract police and flee, Mike Greenwell, commander of the Colorado Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force, told 9News.
"We know that 74% of the people that get arrested for auto theft are also charged with another felony crime of some type. The vast majority of those are violent crimes," he said.
By the numbers: As of Dec. 5, auto theft in Denver has skyrocketed to 71% for the year, compared to the city's three-year average, according to Denver Police Department data.
At least 13,911 cars in the Mile High City have been reported stolen by local law enforcement so far this year, compared to the previous peak of 11,758 in all of 2021.
The Colorado Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force estimates 41,600 cars will be nabbed statewide — up 12% from last year.
The estimated value of stolen vehicles this year totals between $468.1 million and $848.3 million, per a Common Sense Institute report from September.
State of play: Arrests aren't keeping up with the state's vehicular robbery rate, data shows.
In the first six months of the year, Colorado's arrest rate per motor vehicle theft was 9.4%, down from 15.5% in 2019, according to the Common Sense Institute.
The Denver Police Department did not immediately respond to Axios Denver's request for information regarding how the agency is combating the rise in auto theft and why the trend is worsening.
What to watch: The Colorado Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force is calling for tougher punishments for people convicted of stealing cars.
Auto theft "needs to be considered more than just a property crime," Greenwell told 9News. "We have offenders tell us, 'Just let me go. You know I'm not going to stay in jail. You know I'm not going to be sent to prison.'"
Sometimes you just have to take the bad with the worse.
colorado voted for more crime!
live with it!
I guess the weed isn’t making the state mellow.
Under the ChickenPooper, they outlawed guns and legalized dope.
What could possibly go wrong with that!!?? /s
“Legalize” dope and get a lot more crime. Whoever would have thought of that?
HAHAHAHAHA...perfect solution! I learned to drive on a stick shift, but now I prefer automatics.
If you have an automatic tranny, buy one of those steering wheel locks. It will discourage most car thieves.
Nothing says clean government like outlawing audits.. Colorado Secretary of State : Mohamed Enab’s wife : Jena Griswold banned election audits..
Griswold sent out 30 thousand postcards to ineligible voters ( non citizens, dead .. ) in 2020 telling them to register to vote.. She did it again. - 2022.
Yet somehow voters re-elected the Guv and the AG......?
Colorado also has a value law. The seriousness of the crime is determined by the expense of your vehicle. If you drive an older car, it’s open season on you and is the lowest level of an offense. They punish stealing expensive new cars more severely.
Poor people and blue collar people, look out!
To be expected with drugs and voting for Democrats.
Notice the tag? 😉
Ever since Colorado legalized the selling and possession of pot, all types of crime have dramatically increased. It is becoming a state populated by “numbskulls.”
The Denver/Boulder/Aspen sewage is successfully seeping into the civilized portions of the state. Hopefully, we will rise up and make the slime afraid to leave their homes, thereby returning to us the ability to take care of criminals in a manner that they so thoroughly deserve.
Machines Stole Another Race in Colorado –
40 of Colorado’s 64 counties reported registration rates that exceeded 100% of the eligible citizen voting- age population. .
The lawsuit filed in US District Court in Denver alleges the Colorado Secretary of State’s office failed to clean up its voter rolls in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act.
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit along with three voters from El Paso, Elbert and Adams counties.. ~Oct , 2020..
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4081064/posts
The car thefts NEED to grow more dangerous. For the criminals, that is. Since the citizens can’t depend on the police, prosecutors, or politicians to take care of the crime, they need to do so themselves. If law abiding citizens would start carrying a firearm and disposing of the thugs, you would see the number of car thefts start to go down.
I suspect the thefts are being done by a number of repeat criminals who have long rap sheets. Start removing them from the equation and fewer thugs will be willing to replace them in their chosen career.
Oops, wrong thread, lol.
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