Adams and Broomfield Counties have seen a “sharp decline” in car thefts since their peak in 2022, with the number of reported thefts cut in half.

District Attorney Brian Mason announced the data trend on Wednesday, saying there have been annual reductions in the number of car thefts through this year.

Car theft surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching what Mason called “crisis levels” in 2022. Since then, following years of “proactive enforcement, targeted enhanced prosecution” and legislative reforms, the number of car thefts is down by almost 50%.

Notably in 2023, Mason worked with other district attorneys and state legislators to help pass Senate Bill 23-097, which reclassified motor vehicle thefts as felonies no matter the car’s value.

“Thieves noticed that we were vigorously prosecuting them for stealing cars and that the law change gave us the teeth and the tools to do so more effectively,” Mason said in a news release. “Consequently, motor vehicle thefts are way down and overall filings are down nearly half since their peak in 2022.”

Within the 17th Judicial District, Adams County, Broomfield, Thornton and Westminster have seen the most notable reductions, according to the news release.

All told, the number of car thefts has declined from 994 in 2022 to 361 in 2025 as of Sept. 16 across the 17th Judicial District, which includes Adams and Broomfield counties. In 2024, there were 689 reported car theft cases.

In Adams County, the number of thefts has dropped from 878 in 2022 to 626 in 2024 and 316 in 2025.

Broomfield has seen a decline from 115 in 2022 to 63 in 2024 and 45 in 2025.

In Thornton, the number has declined from 212 in 2022 to 159 in 2024 and 64 in 2025.

Westminster’s numbers dropped from 108 in 2022 to 69 in 2024 and 32 in 2025.

“There is more work to do — any stolen car is one too many — but this is real progress and has made our community safer,” Mason said in the news release. “We will continue to vigorously motor vehicle theft cases and hold accountable those who try to hurt the people of this community.”