DENVER — Car theft has continued to explode in Colorado, with at least 14,884 cars reported stolen in Denver in 2022, according to the Denver Police Department. That constitutes about a 70 percent increase over the previous three-year average.
Meanwhile, only 9.4% of thefts resulted in an arrest, according to data from the Common Sense Institute. This has some victims tempted to take matters into their own hands to get their stolen cars back, despite police warning strongly against it.
That was the decision facing Tom Avery, as he was loading his daughter Katie’s new car with presents on Christmas Day.
“We were loading the car, right [in front of the house], going back and forth. And my son says, ‘Katie, someone just stole your car!’” Avery recalled.
He as dumbfounded, at first believing his son was pulling a prank on the rest of the family. Avery had just had his catalytic converter stolen off his truck two weeks prior, and was forced to drop several thousand dollars to get it replaced. Now, he and his daughter were watching two men drive her car down the street and away from his home.
“Katie’s on the line with 911 describing this, saying, ‘They just stole my car! He’s still here! He’s down the block!’ And [the dispatcher] is saying, ‘You need to do a police report.’ And she’s saying, ‘That’s fine, but let’s go get him! He’s right there!’” Avery recalled.
As the family began to realize police would not be coming out to track the thieves, they hopped in another family car and decided to follow the stolen car themselves — despite the 911 dispatcher pleading with them not to.
Avery now says he wouldn’t try to keep up with a stolen car if he finds himself in the same situation again.
“I wasn’t thinking very well,” he now concedes, but said his anger got the best of him in the moment. “I was really beside myself... I was furious.”
Law enforcement warns that many car thieves are armed and dangerous, and asks victims to not attempt to retrieve their own stolen vehicles. According to the Colorado Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force, 74% of those arrested for auto theft are also charged with another felony crime — often violent crimes.
Because his daughter’s new car has GPS tracking, Avery was able to track the thieves in real time. The car was taken down Interstate 25 and to the neighborhood surrounding the University of Denver, where the Averys found the stolen vehicle inside in an alley way.
After following them further, Avery said the thieves caught on to the fact that they were being followed and proceeded to turn around and drive after the Averys.
“Now, they’re chasing us. And I thought, surely the police — who have just told us these people are armed and likely to be dangerous — will do something at this point,” Avery said. “The 911 guy is saying, ‘You need to do something for us. You need to go to a police station.’ And I got on the phone and I said, ‘Okay, we’ll do that. You need to do something for us. You need to get some police here.’”
A spokesperson for the Denver Police Department told Denver7 that officers generally will not actively pursue stolen vehicles because of safety concerns for the officers and the broader public should a chase ensue. They will, however, use information from victims and technology the department has acquired to attempt to locate the stolen vehicles later.
Commander Mike Greenwell with the Colorado Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force said police departments are facing two other major challenges in the fight against auto theft. First, many departments are understaffed and do not have the resources to address the immense volume of stolen cars in real time, as they must prioritize threats to life and physical safety. Second, he said even when a perpetrator is arrested for the theft, they are usually released on bond with no consequences.
“We have offenders stealing multiple cars in the same day,” Greenwell said. “Then a judge releases them on no bond or a PR bond.”
After Avery drove to the police station, and the thieves were no longer following them, he and his daughter tracked the stolen car by GPS to a parking lot in Aurora. They found it there, unoccupied with the engine still running.
Avery said there was damage to the electronic systems inside, and many other stolen items were strewn throughout (including a saw used to steal catalytic converters). He assumes the thieves had temporarily left it unoccupied, and intended to return.
He said something needs to change so that our police officers can more proactively combat our exploding car theft rates.
“You’ve got to catch these people, which is very easy to do — my daughter and I did it in 20 minutes. And then, you have to have a consequence. I mean, I believe in law and order,” Avery said.