Colorado’s car theft crisis: How policy mistakes fueled years of record losses

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer website highlights that there were 95,564 fewer reported motor vehicle thefts across the United States in calendar year 2024 than there were in 2008, a decrease of around 10%.

But not in Colorado where, due to policy choices by politicians and the court system, the number of motor vehicle thefts increased by 131%.

The Colorado Crime Statistics website shows that the number of reported motor vehicle thefts in the state increased from 11,004 in 2008 to 25,424 in 2024.

And 2024 was a much better year for Coloradans than in 2020 when 28,246 vehicles were stolen. It was also better than in 2021 when there were 37,249 thefts; 2022 saw a record 41,390 vehicles stolen (113 per day), and 2023 when there were 33,618 thefts.

Motor vehicle thefts in Colorado rose sharply beginning in 2020, peaking in 2022 before the 2023 legislative change began to slow the trend.

Thieves generally steal motor vehicles for profit, convenience, and to commit additional crimes. Vehicle thefts first began to increase in Colorado when the state’s criminal laws were (foolishly) changed in 2014 to tie the penalties for stealing a motor vehicle to the value of the vehicle stolen. 

Stealing a less valuable vehicle then became a misdemeanor rather than a felony, so criminals more often stole vehicles owned by working-class Coloradans, knowing that if they were caught, the most they would get was a slap on the wrist.

In 2020, the number of thefts skyrocketed, and according to the Auto Theft Intelligence Coordination Center’s 2020 Special Report, “the 2020 spike in vehicle thefts in Colorado coincided with policy changes at the state level, which were designed to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes encompassed not only crime reporting protocols, but the manner in which law enforcement agencies and the courts prioritized auto theft crimes and processed offenders.”

This was also the year when the “defund the police” movement gained traction after the summer of shame riots across the nation, emboldening criminals and weakening the ability of law enforcement agencies to do what they once did. Nonetheless, the 2020 policy changes in Colorado were entirely responsible for the year-over year record number of motor vehicle thefts in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

It wasn’t until 2023 that the slow-to-respond legislature finally got off their big fat collective rear ends and enacted a law that made changes to how different types of motor vehicle thefts might be classified. And they also eliminated the misdemeanor waiver for less expensive vehicles.

At the time this law was enacted, the head of the Colorado State Patrol was quoted as saying, “For far too many years, auto theft was perceived as a victimless crime when the perceived value of a vehicle was low. In reality, it had a tremendous impact on the livelihoods of the vehicle owners and other community members when these vehicles were used to commit additional crimes.”

The 2023 legislation helped to reduce the monthly count of motor vehicle thefts during the second half of 2023 and in 2024 although at the same time, vehicle recovery rates began falling due to budgetary, staffing, and other pressures on law enforcement agencies.

For example, in 2024 only two out of every three stolen vehicles were recovered in Colorado. During the previous decade, the annual recovery rate had been as high as 75%.

Vehicle recovery rates fell in 2023 and 2024 even as overall theft numbers improved.

So yes, relatively fewer vehicles are being stolen (still too many by historical standards), but fewer of those vehicles are being successfully recovered as the thieves hustle them into “chop shops,” or across state lines and the southern border.

Here are a few related vehicle theft facts that might be useful to know:

• December and January have typically been the two busiest months for motor vehicle thieves in Colorado, with that trend holding for ten of the past eighteen years.
• Some 96% of all stolen cars in 2024 had items stolen from within the car (don’t leave visible valuables in your car!).
• More vehicles are stolen between 6:00pm and 8:59pm every day than at any other time, and fewer vehicles are stolen between 3:00am and 5:59am (car thieves don’t get up very early).
• Vehicle thieves are equally likely to steal a car any day of the week in Colorado, with a very slight preference for Fridays.
• There is no gender equality in the world of vehicle thefts. Around 75% of all vehicle thieves are males.
• The Colorado data show that organized gangs are only responsible for around 8% of all vehicle thefts in Colorado. The rest are freelancers, and many are likely repeat offenders.
• More motor vehicles are stolen from Denver International Airport than any other location in Colorado, and in 2022 these thefts accounted for nearly 3% of all motor vehicles stolen statewide (don’t leave your parking ticket in the car!).
• Of the 25,424 motor vehicle thefts reported in 2024, six also involved a homicide, two rapes, one a sexual assault with an object, and 187 aggravated assaults.
• As of September 30, 2025, Colorado’s correctional inmate jurisdictional population was 16,210. For reference, on June 30, 2008, it was 22,989.

Be vigilant out there!

Mike O’Donnell is a small business advocate, nonprofit executive and economic development leader based in Kirk, Colorado. He currently serves as Executive Director of Prairie Rose Development Corp., a mission-driven lender supporting underserved entrepreneurs across the state.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.