Surge in car thefts at Denver airport challenges police, frustrates travelers 

Terri Finney returned to Denver International Airport astatine the extremity of a play travel to find her car gone from the eastbound garage, wherever she’d parked it 2 days earlier. By the extremity of the week, Denver constabulary had arrested the suspected thieves and recovered her Audi A4 sedan.

But what seemed similar a blessed ending turned sour erstwhile she saw the information of the seven-year-old car.

It sustained insignificant carnal harm that “would’ve been fixable,” Finney recalled, “but they had smoked truthful overmuch meth successful it that it was totaled.”

She is among dozens of DIA travelers affected by a surge successful car thefts from its garages and tons this twelvemonth arsenic the frequence of on-airport thefts has much than doubled. Increasingly, instrumentality enforcement officials say, theft rings and idiosyncratic thieves person viewed the airport’s acres of parking and rental car tons arsenic casual targets during the pandemic, swiping an mean 16 cars a period this year.

Auto theft is simply a recurring problem astatine the hotels and tons extracurricular DIA’s boundaries, too. It’s increased crossed the state successful the past 2 years, on with immoderate different types of crime. But constabulary information amusement that DIA’s maturation successful car theft cases has acold outpaced metro Denver arsenic a whole.

Car theft tin outpouring a costly astonishment connected travelers erstwhile they instrumentality to the airport, adjacent though constabulary often are capable to find stolen vehicles.

After Finney’s acquisition successful precocious February, the cheque chopped by her security institution for the worth of her totaled car near her connected the hook for a important information of the terms for a replacement. She besides mislaid outdoor cogwheel and different belongings she’d near wrong her aged car, each agelong gone by the clip it was found.

Finney, a Denver psychologist, figures the theft outgo her upwards of $11,000.

Auto thefts already person eclipsed past year

Denver Police Department information provided to The Denver Post amusement that past year, thieves swiped 97 vehicles from locations connected airdrome property, including DIA’s garages and tons arsenic good arsenic rental car companies’ lots. Even though passenger postulation declined significantly past twelvemonth during the pandemic, the 2020 auto-theft full was up 24% implicit 2019.

The occupation has lone accelerated, with 115 conveyance thefts reported astatine DIA successful conscionable the archetypal 7 months of this twelvemonth — up 125% compared to the aforesaid play successful 2020, erstwhile 51 vehicles were reported stolen.

A akin partial-year examination produced by the Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force successful a caller study shows that metrowide, vehicles were stolen 73% much often successful the archetypal fractional of 2021 versus 2020. Thieves took disconnected successful an mean 519 vehicles each week betwixt Jan. 1 and June 30, the study says.

Even past year’s little stats ranked metro Denver 3rd among U.S. metropolitan areas erstwhile conveyance thefts were compared to population, according to a study released past month by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

DPD’s airdrome stats bash not see locations extracurricular DIA boundaries, including adjacent hotels, backstage semipermanent tons and an off-site batch managed by DIA adjacent to the A-Line presumption astatine 61st and Peña Boulevard. Those besides marque predominant auto-theft targets, constabulary records show.

DPD and airdrome officials accidental they person stepped up patrols by constabulary and information officers successful the DIA lots, including overnight. They person a batch of crushed to cover, though licence sheet scanners and cameras astatine introduction and exit points often assistance theft investigators.

“I cognize that they’re connected it,” said Mike Greenwell, a Lakewood constabulary commandant who heads the task force. “I cognize they spot the problem. The contented is that they person truthful overmuch onshore and they person truthful galore vehicles, there’s truly nary mode that anybody tin patrol that enough. I deliberation they’ve done a truly bully occupation astatine putting successful further information measures.”

Still, helium added, “a batch of this comes down to either proprietor error,” with cars near unlocked oregon valuables near visible. “Or, if a thief wants a car, they’re going to find a mode to get it.”

Thieves often are repetition offenders

Greenwell said car thieves often are prolific, typically stealing a car for idiosyncratic usage oregon to perpetrate different crimes — and past abandoning oregon selling it for inexpensive wrong a fewer days. The most predominant targets crossed metro Denver successful the outpouring were pickup trucks and mid-range sedans, not pricey cars.

The task unit says metro constabulary departments retrieve astir 88% of stolen vehicles.

He suspects a large origin down the surge successful thefts during the pandemic is that measures to trim jailhouse crowding enactment much radical arrested successful non-violent crimes connected the street.

In Finney’s case, the Denver constabulary serviceman who took her study ran her licence sheet and told her a witnesser to an attempted car theft had already spotted her vehicle. Three days later, aft DIA parking managers reported suspicious enactment successful the eastbound garage, constabulary arrested the occupants of a Saab that had a stolen licence plate, according to a connection of probable cause.

Police arrested a 23-year-old antheral and a 21-year-old pistillate suspected of stealing Finney’s car and different vehicle. One received probation and the other’s lawsuit is pending. Last week, some were arrested again successful a caller car theft lawsuit successful Broomfield, according to tribunal records.

Authorities impulse travelers who parkland astatine DIA to marque definite they fastener their vehicles and permission nary valuables inside, adjacent successful the trunk. And DIA encourages its employees and the nationalist to study immoderate suspicious enactment by utilizing the See Say Airport smart-phone app oregon by calling 303-342-4211.

Finney praised the constabulary officers who solved her case. But the wide acquisition near her frustrated.

“It is hugely time-consuming,” she said. “I mislaid a clump of worldly that I’ll ne'er get compensated for. I spent hours dealing with police, with the impound idiots … (and) with my security company. Then buying for a car, buying a car, renting a car for months. It besides outgo maine successful presumption of the hours that I couldn’t enactment — tons of hours.”