Surge in Car Thefts at Denver Airport Challenge Police

Terri Finney returned to Denver International Airport at the end of a weekend trip to find her car gone from the east garage, where she'd parked it two days earlier. By the end of the week, Denver police had arrested the suspected thieves and recovered her Audi A4 sedan.

But what seemed like a happy ending turned sour when she saw the condition of the seven-year-old car.

It sustained minor physical damage that "would've been fixable," Finney recalled, "but they had smoked so much meth in it that it was totaled."

She is among dozens of DIA travelers affected by a surge in auto thefts from its garages and lots this year as the frequency of on-airport thefts has more than doubled. Increasingly, law enforcement officials say, theft rings and individual thieves have viewed the airport's acres of parking and rental car lots as easy targets during the pandemic, swiping an average 16 cars a month this year.

Auto theft is a recurring problem at the hotels and lots outside DIA's boundaries, too. It's increased across the country in the last two years, along with some other types of crime. But police data show that DIA's growth in auto theft cases has far outpaced metro Denver as a whole.

Car theft can spring a costly surprise on travelers when they return to the airport, even though police often are able to find stolen vehicles.

After Finney's experience in late February, the check cut by her insurance company for the value of her totaled car left her on the hook for a substantial portion of the price for a replacement. She also lost outdoor gear and other belongings she'd left inside her old car, all long gone by the time it was found.

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

Auto thefts already have eclipsed last year

Denver Police Department data provided to The Denver Post show that last year, thieves swiped 97 vehicles from locations on airport property, including DIA's garages and lots as well as rental car companies' lots. Even though passenger traffic declined significantly last year during the pandemic, the 2020 auto-theft total was up 24% over 2019.

The problem has only accelerated, with 115 vehicle thefts reported at DIA in just the first seven months of this year — up 125% compared to the same period in 2020, when 51 vehicles were reported stolen.

A similar partial-year comparison produced by the Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force in a recent report shows that metrowide, vehicles were stolen 73% more often in the first half of 2021 versus 2020. Thieves took off in an average 519 vehicles each week between Jan. 1 and June 30, the report says.

Even last year's lower stats ranked metro Denver third among U.S. metropolitan areas when vehicle thefts were compared to population, according to a report released last month by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

DPD's airport stats do not include locations outside DIA boundaries, including nearby hotels, private long-term lots and an off-site lot managed by DIA adjacent to the A-Line station at 61st and Peña Boulevard. Those also make frequent auto-theft targets, police records show.

DPD and airport officials say they have stepped up patrols by police and security officers in the DIA lots, including overnight. They have a lot of ground to cover, though license plate scanners and cameras at entry and exit points often aid theft investigators.

"I know that they're on it," said Mike Greenwell, a Lakewood police commander who heads the task force. "I know they see the problem. The issue is that they have so much land and they have so many vehicles, there's really no way that anybody can patrol that enough. I think they've done a really good job at putting in additional security measures."

Still, he added, "a lot of this comes down to either owner error," with cars left unlocked or valuables left visible. "Or, if a thief wants a car, they're going to find a way to get it."

Thieves often are repeat offenders

Greenwell said auto thieves often are prolific, typically stealing a car for personal use or to commit other crimes — and then abandoning or selling it for cheap within a few days. The most frequent targets across metro Denver in the spring were pickup trucks and mid-range sedans, not pricey cars.

The task force says metro police departments recover nearly 88% of stolen vehicles.

He suspects a major factor behind the surge in thefts during the pandemic is that measures to reduce jail crowding put more people arrested in non-violent crimes on the street.

In Finney's case, the Denver police officer who took her report ran her license plate and told her a witness to an attempted car theft had already spotted her vehicle. Three days later, after DIA parking managers reported suspicious activity in the east garage, police arrested the occupants of a Saab that had a stolen license plate, according to a statement of probable cause.

Police arrested a 23-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman suspected of stealing Finney's car and another vehicle. One received probation and the other's case is pending. Last week, both were arrested again in a new auto theft case in Broomfield, according to court records.

Authorities urge travelers who park at DIA to make sure they lock their vehicles and leave no valuables inside, even in the trunk. And DIA encourages its employees and the public to report any suspicious activity by using the See Say Airport smart-phone app or by calling 303-342-4211.

Finney praised the police officers who solved her case. But the overall experience left her frustrated.

"It is hugely time-consuming," she said. "I lost a bunch of stuff that I'll never get compensated for. I spent hours dealing with police, with the impound idiots ... (and) with my insurance company. Then shopping for a car, buying a car, renting a car for months. It also cost me in terms of the hours that I couldn't work — tons of hours."

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