Study Warns Colorado’s High Theft Threshold Fueling Retail Crime Growth

By Mark Samuelson | Colorado Politics

Shoplifting and other forms of retail crime are seeing a sharp rise as Colorado heads into the holidays, according to a study.

After falling from a recent-record 24,975 thefts reported in 2015 to around 18,000 in 2021, Colorado Bureau of Investigation data show a jump to more than 27,000 shoplifting crimes in 2024, according to former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, who co-authored the study.

The study was released in the past week by the Greenwood Village-based Common Sense Institute.

It reported that shoplifting hotspots include Adams County, with 52,333 incidents over the span from 2014 to 2024; followed by Jefferson County, with 34,241 incidents; and El Paso County, 33,339 over the span.

Other counties posting high numbers over the decade included Denver, 28,009, Larimer, 14,592, Arapahoe, 14,197, Douglas, 12,459, Weld, 10,937, Mesa 8,013, Pueblo, 7,887, and Boulder, with 6,404 incidents.

The study said that combined retail theft totaling personal shoplifting, along with “organized retail crime,” has become a serious challenge to the state’s retail economy, marking a 22.4% growth rate in 2024 over 2023, 10% higher than the record figure a decade ago.

In 2022, according to the study, retailers here lost an estimated $278.75 in sales-per-capita to theft. Combined losses, figuring in returned merchandise and related frauds together with shoplifting, were estimated to cost retailers some $2.69 billion.

Along with the thefts are losses in taxable sales suffered by state and local governments. The new study said the state of Colorado lost $37.4 million in revenue to retail theft alone, and another $40.6 million to fraudulent returns and sales, totaling $78 million.

The study suggested that as much as 89% of retail thefts go unreported – making for larger totals than the 27,094 incidents in 2024 and an even greater economic impact.

“This suggests the true number of theft events in Colorado is double what official data currently capture, closer to 51,228 statewide,” the report’s authors stated.

Weighing the five-year drift into more serious numbers of thefts, the authors recommend legislation, including lowering the dollar threshold for felony theft and raising penalties for organized retail crimes. Under current Colorado law, a theft has to exceed $2,000 to rank as a felony.

The $1.3 billion in shoplifting theft reported in 2022 involved 32% fewer incidents than those reported last year. However, modeling by the Common Sense Institute suggested that, even the lower level of loss could cut Colorado’s GDP by around $2.5 billion between 2026 and 2030. Employment losses would result, as well, the study said.

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