Vehicles are being stolen at a higher rate this year than last year; reported missing from public parking lots, long busy streets, and even from people’s driveways. And the areas they are targeting in Colorado Springs have changed as well.
Police tell News5 Investigates that motor vehicle theft jumped 13.5 percent since last year in the city. Despite that increase, only four detectives are handling a caseload that has climbed well into the thousands.
Posts on social media from frustrated drivers of stolen vehicles are not hard to find, and the posts describe how personal the loss can feel. Sharing images and details of a missing vehicle can sometimes help detectives locate it if tips are generated from the post, said Colorado Springs Police Lt. Mark Chacon.
"Sometimes it does, especially if it's a vehicle that we're looking for. Keep in mind we only have four detectives assigned to the motor vehicle theft unit that's trying to deal with over 2,500 motor vehicle thefts a year. So it's very challenging," Chacon said.
From January 1 through September 14 of this year, 2,338 vehicles were reported stolen, and of those, 1,704 cases are still open, according to police data. Nineteen percent of those are Kias and Hyundais, which have been stolen at a higher rate due to thieves' ability to dismantle a security feature and a video showing them how to do it first posted by the infamous Kia Boyz which went viral on social media. Both companies have recall options for consumers available.
But Lt. Chacon said the closure rate is due in part to a lack of resources.
"What I would like to say is, we could investigate every single one of those crimes, but it's just not feasible. So when we get that information, it really depends…. If we have officers available if it's a case that we're able to assign to a detective for further investigation. But typically we use our analytical data to really drive what our investigative efforts are going to be," he said.
Colorado's Auto Theft Intelligence Coordination Center finds even though it's the second largest city, the Springs ranks third in the state in vehicle thefts behind Denver and Aurora.
“Obviously we’ve had a lot of Hyundais and Kias that have been stolen recently," Lt. Chacon added.
In fact, police data shows, Hyundais and Kias make up nineteen percent of the total of stolen vehicles in the first nine months of this year. And usually, they aren’t found nearby. The state’s stolen vehicle database shows that 55 percent of vehicles stolen across the state in 2022 were recovered in another jurisdiction.
There is one area of the city where police are seeing the most activity this year, in the Pikes Peak North neighborhood located in southeast Colorado Springs. Other neighborhoods where more than 100 vehicles have been reported stolen include Knob Hill, Austin Estates, Quail Lake, and Rustic Hills.
Regardless of where the thieves are working, Lt. Chacon said his unit is working to identify both the repeat offenders and groups, comprised largely of teenagers, who are working together to steal cars.
"We focus on any repeat offenders that we can identify. We work closely with the district attorney's office. So we do have adults, but we also have a lot of juveniles that are committing these crimes as well. And that's been one of our biggest challenges, is ensuring that the juveniles are held accountable and preventing them from committing the future motor vehicle thefts, he said.
So far in 2023, the Hyundai Elantra and the Chevy Silverado are the first and second most stolen cars, followed by Ford's F-150, according to state data.
If your car is stolen, police advise that you'll need to know the make and model as well as the license plate and vehicle identification number, or VIN, to get a police report and file with your insurance.
Have a story you'd like News5 Investigates to look into? Send an email to News5Investigates@KOAA.com.
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