Car Thefts Man Trying to Break Into Car
‘Man Trying to Break Into Car’ Photo courtesy of Colorado Car Thefts at the Summit

A flurry of news coverage over the last year has left some statistical accumulation on the ground. These facts show up on the closed caption news in the waiting room at the dentist’s or on the front page of a newspaper by the checkout at Walgreens. It becomes a dismaying din.

The problem is undeniable. What to do about it appears to take a backseat to why it’s happening.

Why It’s Happening vs. How to Stop It

Law enforcement agencies state that lighter sentencing is to blame. Conversely, media and political leadership consult academics and activists who say vehicle theft is economic desperation and generally the result of systemic injustice. Earlier in the year, The Maverick Observer explored and gave some context regarding these and other reasons for the severe motor vehicle theft problem in the state.

Regardless of causes, these crime data are piling up, and the estimated total value of stolen cars–returned or not – is ticking higher. And the fight over the why and the how continues.

Addressing these concerns, an editorial originally written by the Colorado Spring Gazette of the current reality: “Whether stiffer penalties will deter [repeated car thieves] is beside the point; they cannot steal your car from your driveway if they are in jail.”

Polis Responds by Writing a Letter and Threatening to Cooperate with Republicans

In September, Governor Polis sent a letter to the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice asking the Department of Public Safety group to examine and hopefully consider stiffer vehicle theft sentencing.

Their response resembles academic, psychiatric, and expertise-based mindsets. That is the obverse to law enforcement. Christie Donner is the Executive Director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC), a non-profit advocacy group “whose mission is to eliminate the overuse of the criminal justice system and advance community health and safety.” Donner is quoted in Colorado Newsline questioning the policy wisdom of the governor’s request for new recommendations regarding car theft. Like the Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board, she is quite stark but in the opposite direction: “[W]e are going to question the lack of understanding behind that request as if increasing penalties for motor vehicle theft is somehow going to reduce auto theft.”

And if CCJRC doesn’t do something, there is an implicit threat that the governor may consider trying to pass laws to change it. Polis spokesperson Katherine Jones is quoted in the Washington Times saying the governor essentially told the agency he expects results. That he will, if necessary, work with both legislative parties to address “some of the most pressing criminal justice issues,” including car theft. 

In summary, the governor sent a letter to a politically sympathetic agency asking them to conduct studies about crime and criminal sentencing. He asked that they offer different recommendations for other third and fourth parties to carry out. In short, these are not sharp-toothed threats.

Crime Policy and Motor Vehicle Thefts

The governor’s proposed 2023 budget does have $42.1 million in funds for crime reduction, with some of it targeting the motor vehicle theft rate.

Still, the problem has worsened under his watch, and that did not happen in isolation. Polis signed a 2021 law – passed with bipartisan support in the state senate but sponsored 3-to-1 by Democrats – that tied penalties for theft of motor vehicles to car’s value. Among other changes, state Bill 271, according to billsponsor.com, recategorized “various criminal offenses within the new classification system for misdemeanors, petty offenses, and civil infractions.”

This law effectively lowered the punishment for stealing the cheapest cars.

Blue-Collar Stresses Amplified by a Stolen Vehicle

According to the US Census, an estimated three-fourths of Colorado workers are employed outside the home. While 23.7% work from home, 71% drive alone or carpool to work. In a mountainous, spread-out, and hard-weather state, public transport is low feasibility. It’s less than 2% for Colorado. Biking, walking, and other modes of commuting are less than 5% collectively.

Work-from-home jobs, except perhaps the minuscule and shrinking number of mom-and-pops below a second-floor apartment, are mainly information-based, solidly-middle-class (or better) jobs.

Many people in manufacturing, service, and related jobs physically can’t work from home. As such, car theft is a compounded hardship that’s tougher to recover from economically. Mitch Morrissey, former Colorado DA, is quoted in that tough-on-crime Gazette editorial. “When someone steals your car, they steal your livelihood,” he said. Morrissey is also co-author of a Commonsense Institute report on car theft in Colorado.

There is evidence suggesting that thieves–for a variety of reasons, including lighter sentencing–are targeting cheaper cars, according to the Commonsense Institute. As such, citizens who can most easily afford to recover from a stolen car are virtually unaffected: almost no stolen vehicles are valued over $50,000. And 85% of cars stolen were under $25,000.

Aurora Crack Down

Aurora, a hot spot for auto theft, passed a law this year requiring a minimum 60-day jail penalty for a stolen vehicle first conviction. Repeat offenders get a smiting 120 days. A CBS4 Denver article on vehicles stolen statewide in Colorado quotes the leading proponent of this policy, city councilman Warren Zvonek. “In the first 28 days, we saw a measurable decrease in motor vehicle thefts.”

A dive into Aurora PD’s public data on the monthly theft rate backs this up. Since the summer of 2022, there has been a downward trend when comparing the previous month for each week. There is a downward trend after the enactment of what are effectively sentencing guidelines for the city.

More than Simple Property Damage

Property crimes involving motor vehicle thefts are going up as well. The Commonsense Institute notes a staggering increase in secondary offenses related to motor vehicle theft over the last 14 years. Public facing data from the state suggests, in the last five years, there are few violent crimes associated with vehicle theft. But it’s not so clear cut: semantics can allow mugging to be classified as “robbery,” a property crime. Many victims would consider mugging a violent offense. 

Auto theft is not an isolated crime.

Car thefts have a cascading effect on citizens, particularly those in lower-income brackets. Less work gets done when they can’t get to work. They may need social services spending. A worker not getting to work can harm more than their own household economy.

Reformation of illegal behavior is the ideal goal for both tough-on-crime and criminal-justice-overhaul advocates. But public safety concern is a grittier, more reality-based sector than individual human behavior and motivation. It’s a broader concern, and car theft is not only a property crime.

The stolen car problem is not an electioneering issue for tough-on-crime advocates. Yet the governor — if one reckons only from his actions so far – appears to be treating it as such.

The Maverick Observer is an online free-thinking publication interested in the happenings in our region. We launched in February 2020 to hold our politicians and businesses accountable. We hope to educate, inform, entertain, and infuse you with a sense of community.

Author

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

2 COMMENTS

Comments are closed.