Denver City Wire

David Cardella says he has been selling cars “my whole life.” What he has witnessed in the last year has appalled, disgusted and angered him.

Cardella, CEO of the Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association, said car thefts and property crimes are harming dealers and drivers. It’s getting worse, and Colorado law enforcement seems helpless to stop it, he said.

“We’ve got 1,138 members, and I would say probably 300 have been victimized multiple times,” Cardella told Denver City Wire. “It's really gotten out of hand this year. It has exploded like we've never seen before. We were having a problem with the catalytic converter thefts. And we've been working on that issue for a couple of years, can't seem to get any traction with the leadership of the state to make them understand what's happening. And then the auto stuff, which is skyrocketing.”

David Cardella | Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association

According to a new report from Denver City Wire, there were more car thefts in Colorado last year than in any other state in the country, based on data from the Colorado Department of Public Safety. The rate of motor vehicle theft in Colorado almost doubled between 2019 and 2021, increasing from 377 to 637 per 100,000 residents. The rate of car theft in the state is more than double the national average of 246 per 100,000 residents, according to the report.

Cardella has seen the impact this is having across the state. He said criminals are targeting dealerships and causing tremendous amounts of damage by committing various crimes.

“They are brazen. They come back and steal cars in broad daylight,” Cardella said. “They have weapons now. They’re armed. They're dangerous. They know that nobody'll pursue them. It has turned into a fiasco, and it is because of some of the law changes that happened in the last couple of years in the state.”

What caused this? Cardella has a few ideas.

“I think there are multiple factors. A lot of the vehicles that are stolen are recovered, 99% of them are recovered “ he said. “The problem is they're used in secondary crimes. They're used for drug crimes. And there's traces left in the car. These people just get their cars back, consumers and dealers. The insurance companies don't clean and disinfect that vehicle. They just tell you to come pick up your vehicle.”

When they do, the vehicles have been vandalized, damaged and are missing parts.

When car dealers complain, people say, well, that’s why you have insurance. But Cardella said that flip response doesn’t hold up when held up to scrutiny.

“You make a couple of claims, you no longer have insurance,” he said. “It makes it impossible to even make any claims.”

Cardella, who serves on the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority Board of Directors as a consumer representative, said the biggest problem is the attitude law enforcement takes about these activities.

“They look at it as it's a property crime, and that's a low-level crime. In their eyes, they don't feel that the impact is enough,” he said. “Yet, it's a tremendous amount on the public, on the dealer itself.”

Cardella said it’s removing vehicles from an already tight market. 

“It is creating a shortage in our state,” he said. “There already was a shortage in our state of available vehicles. And so everybody's costs are going up. Costs are getting passed on to consumers. And it's because of these law changes and because of the lack of attention being paid to the problem.”

He said it started a couple of years ago with the rise in catalytic converter thefts and has escalated from there. State officials have displayed a lack of concern, and that has led local law enforcement to take a hands-off approach, Cardella said.

“Our attorney general (Phil Weiser) thinks we should slap their hands on the wrist until they get out, get arrested three or four times. Well, they know that until they get in front of a judge and get convicted of something, that they can continue to delay the process,” he said. “So they're out on the street continuing to do what they do. They know they have no fear of consequences. Something’s got to be done.”

Gov. Jared Polis refuses to even meet with car dealers, Cardella said.

“Look, let me tell you, On a catalytic converter issue, we've been trying to get a meeting with the governor for two years,” he said. “We've had legislators try and get us a meeting with the governor for two years. We have met with his office staff about getting a meeting with the governor. He doesn't think it's a big enough issue.”

Polis held a press conference in February to address public safety and crime-related legislation, but several of the state's largest law enforcement groups did not participate and instead sent a letter to the governor, which said, “We ask that elected officials, such as yourself and state legislators, recognize how recent legislation and policy changes have directly contributed to rising crime rates and struggles to recruit and retain officers.”

The letter was signed by Gregory Knott, president of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police; Stephen Schulz, president of the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police; and Amy Nichols, executive director of County Sheriffs of Colorado, Colorado Peak Politics reported. 

Cardella said more media outlets are reporting on this crime wave. Cities are responding, with Aurora making longer sentences for car theft mandatory.

“And that's why you see all these news articles or TV stations doing the story now,” he said. “It's impacting everybody across the state.”

Polis is still not taking it seriously enough, Cardella said.

“When you have legislators who have been impressed with the victims of the crime themselves, many of their citizens calling them, asking for help because they've been victims and he won't respond,” he said. “Catalytic converter theft is up 200%. And since 2019, we have now just overtaken San Francisco for the number-one spot of items being stole off of people's porches. Crime is out of control in this state because we have become known as a non-prosecuting state.”

Cardella said dealerships are trying to respond.

“Sure, they had to spend tens of thousands of dollars with security systems and safes and bolting safes to the floor or cementing them,” he said.

But the criminals are relentless.

“Multiple dealerships, they (are) just busted. They destroy whatever’s in their way,” he said. “They don’t care about leaving a trail, because they know they're not going to get prosecuted. When they don’t get prosecuted in a timely manner, the charges get dropped. And they know that it will be stretched out in our justice system. It’s absolutely ridiculous that these people are not held accountable.”