Colorado is not No. 1!

Or at least it’s a “reasonable inference,” one expert said, that “we are no longer the worst in the country.”

After years of being the worst state in the country for auto thefts per capita, Colorado is showing signs of losing that distinction by what could turn out to be a large margin.

The Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority (CATPA) report for the first four months of the year showed that 22% fewer cars were stolen from January through April, compared to the same period in 2022.

That computed to 11,473 vehicles stolen. In the same period last year, thieves made off with 14,684 cars.

“These are phenomenal numbers, but we can’t stop now,” Cale Gould, outreach coordinator for the CATPA, said. “It’s still so bad, that everyone knows someone who’s had a car stolen.”

Gould attributed two major reasons for the decline – law enforcement has reprioritized car theft and people are more aware that they can’t be complacent. Much of that is because of grassroots education, getting the word out on social media and with boots-on-the-ground efforts.

The high number of car thefts in Colorado the last few years prompted lawmakers this year to pass Senate Bill 97, which makes all auto theft a felony regardless of the value of the vehicle.

Although approximately 40,000 vehicles which were stolen in Colorado in 2022, only around 3,900 arrests were made. That represents less than 10% of stolen vehicles resulting in an arrest, according to CATPA data presented to lawmakers. Of those arrests, approximately 80% were already charged as felonies.

From 2011 to 2020, the rate of auto theft increased by 144% in Colorado – the fastest rise in the country – reaching 524.3 thefts per every 100,000 people, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. That’s more than double the national rate of 256. Since 2020, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation estimates that auto thefts continued to rise by 46% as of 2022.

Gould travels around the state for CATPA, an arm of the Colorado State Patrol, educating people about how easy it is to steal a car.

When he talks to people whose cars have been stolen, the most common theme is the old “my keys were in the car and I didn’t think anyone would actually take it.”

The rural areas of Colorado are different for auto theft. People in small towns tend to trust the fact that crime hasn’t reached their area.

“People who live in the country think it’s safe to leave their keys in the sun visor, but I tell them that Colorado has grown and that means things aren’t as safe as we’d like for them to be,” Gould said.

The kind of vehicle stolen in rural Colorado is different too. According to the CAPTA, thieves will often make off with a big truck, sometimes trailer and all, and perhaps sell it for parts.

Car thieves have more sophisticated techniques in the city.

Gould said people in places like the Denver metro area are better about making sure their cars are locked, but criminals know how to exploit security shortcomings, and will overpower factory ignition systems.

Five years ago, when immobilization systems came on the scene, auto theft became harder for criminals because as long as a key was nowhere near a vehicle, the car wouldn’t start or even unlock.

CATPA reported that the Denver metro area had the worst auto theft problem in the first quarter of 2023 (8,400 vehicles stolen), followed by southern Colorado (1,611) and northern Colorado (1,041).

Car thieves were least active in the Eastern Colorado region, where they made off with 79 vehicles.

The Western Slope had the biggest decrease in stolen vehicles from the first quarter of 2023 with 25%. The Denver Metro area saw a 24% slide. Of the six regions tabbed by CATPA, Southern Colorado saw the slightest improvement with only a 10% slowdown in auto thefts over last year at this time.

The 10 makes and models of vehicles most likely to be stolen in the first quarter 2023 were:

1. Chevrolet Silverado 1500

2. Hyundai Elantra

3. Hyundai Sonata

4. Ford F-150

5. Kia Sportage

6. Hyundai Tucson

7. Honda Accord

8. Ford F-250

9. Honda Civic

10. Kia Optima

Gould said that Colorado is different from other places with car theft problems in that Colorado doesn’t have a huge “Kia Boyz Challenge” issue. This is a nationwide social media phenomenon that explains on social media platforms, such as TikTok, how to steal a Kia or a Hyundai model car with only a screw diver and a USB cord.

Instead, Gould said, Colorado car thieves steal cars to commit other crimes, such as burglaries, smash-and-grab robberies, reckless driving, and drug and weapons offenses.

“They will drive that car to the end of the world to evade law enforcement,” Gould said.

To find out more about auto theft, visit CAPTA’s educational website lockdownyourcar.org.

Editor’s note: Colorado Politics reporter Hanna Metzger contributed in this article. This story has also been updated to add more context and reflect accurate timeframes.