Property crimes on the rise in Broomfield
Mar. 3—When A Precious Child staff members tried to start the engine of their delivery truck in January, it made a horrible noise. The nonprofit later learned someone drove up to the truck on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and removed the catalytic converters.
The stolen catalytic converters is just one of thousands of reported property crimes in Broomfield, which have increased significantly since the stay-at-home orders were lifted in June.
Property crimes — divided into burglary, motor vehicle theft and theft — rose in 2020 compared to 2019.
Data compiled by the Broomfield Police Department shows there were 216 burglaries reported in 2020, up from 195 reported in 2019. There were 270 motor vehicle thefts in 2020, up from 133 reported in 2019 — a 103% change. There were 1,728 reports that fell into the larceny/theft category in 2020, down slightly from 1,746 reports in 2019, data shows. Combined, the three types of property crime saw a 6.75% increase in 2020.
Broomfield Police Chief Gary Creager said crime remained low at the beginning of 2020 and through the start of the coronavirus pandemic. He acknowledged through the stay-at-home orders the combination of it being obvious when people were out around town and retailers being closed made it difficult to commit a property crime.
"Coming out of that in June is where we really started to see this increase in crime," he said.
In a normal year, shoplifting typically makes up a lot of reported property crimes. But when retail stores opened back up during the past year, it was at limited capacity. Creager said vehicle break-ins and auto thefts have increased in Broomfield, which is consistent with the Denver Metro Region.
Despite the increase in property crimes, Broomfield has not seen a spike in homicides and gun violence through the pandemic, like other cities have. There were zero homicides, 13 robberies and 49 aggravated assaults in 2020. In 2019, there were two homicides, eight robberies and 52 aggravated assaults, data shows.
Creager said Broomfield police are responding to smash-and-grab burglaries on stores and a lot of burglaries from residents' garages.
According to data from the police department, new bookings into jails "are currently limited to people who pose a risk to others, and warrants are not being enforced unless meeting the risk criteria." Those who are charged with new property or non-risk related offenses are given summons for the next available court date.
Creager said officers will run into people with 10 or 20 warrants for their arrest, but they can't be arrested based on the crimes. Because of that and the backlog of cases that courts are experiencing as a result of the pandemic, Creager said there isn't much of a consequence on people's actions.
"It's unbelievably frustrating for everyone involved," he said.
It's frustrating for officers to not be able to find a solution and it's frustrating for the victims of the crimes who just want their items back or want closure, Public Information Officer Rachel Welte added.
Despite that, officers still investigate every case. Creager said Broomfield's property crime clearance rate is 15%, higher than the national average. But with more than 2,200 reported property crimes in 2020, Welte said the investigations unit is feeling the weight of the amount of cases they're dealing with.
Creager estimated officers on the street are responding to reported property crimes 20% of a shift, and the other 80% of the shift is responding to service-related calls.
Some local businesses are increasing security in response to the increase in property crimes.
Stang Auto Tech President Robert Blaes said his shop invested in a new fence and new security cameras.
"Because of the increased crime rate, this is what businesses are doing," Blaes said. "It's the extra expense for us to protect our assets and our customers' assets."
Blaes said he and other business owners would like to see increased lighting and an increased police presence.
When asked what the future of the spike in property crime is, Creager said that's the $24 million question. He said there has to be consequences for those that choose to not abide by the law, but the police department is not the final answer to the problem.
Still, Creager stressed that Broomfield is still a safe community — one of the safest in the Metro area.
"That's the value of being in Broomfield. Or one of them," he said. "We want to reverse this trend."
The story of the property crime at A Precious Child has a happier ending. When the truck was taken to Automotive Specialists, 7175 Newton St., the shop identified the missing catalytic converters and told the nonprofit a replacement would cost $4,500. But the manager gave the nonprofit a discounted rate of $2,900 and then donated another $1,000, A Precious Child Marketing Coordinator Laura Wilson said. A story on the donation aired on FOX31, and Wilson said following that multiple donations came in to cover about $1,000 of the remaining $1,900.
"It's amazing that people have stepped in without us asking for help, and pretty quickly," Wilson said.
What residents can do
Broomfield police are urging residents to create a "9 p.m. routine" to protect themselves and their property from being the victim of a crime of opportunity. The routine includes:
* Removing all valuables from vehicles and locking doors
* Closing overhead garage doors and locking inner garage doors
* Closing and locking all exterior doors and windows
* Turning on front and back exterior lights
* Setting alarms
Additionally, Neighborhood Watch is a community network that enlists active participation of citizens in cooperation with public safety agencies to prepare for all hazards in the community, according to the website. For more information or to find out about a program for your area, contact the Public Education Coordinator at 720-887-2084 or visit broomfield.org/1341/Neighborhood-Watch.
"We all have a role in public safety. It's not just the police's job," Welte said. "Get to know your neighbors ... We want to be ahead of this."
