Colorado finally seems to have turned the tide on auto theft, as we noted here recently. For two years running, our state had the highest car-theft rate in the nation, but the rate started dipping last year and has continued to do so this year.

Authorities attribute that welcome development partly to a new state law — along with more funding for the state’s Auto Theft Prevention Authority; a renewed focus by local governments on fighting auto theft, and public vigilance. The new law was adopted by the Legislature last year, pegging the penalty for stealing a car to the severity of the incident — instead of tying it to the stolen vehicle’s value, which previously had been Colorado policy for years. The net effect of the previous policy was that the theft of less valuable vehicles meant lighter penalties.

Compounding the problems caused by the old policy, lawmakers had voted in 2021 to reduce a range of criminal penalties to misdemeanors, including for stealing vehicles valued under $2,000. It was practically an invitation to the theft of older, less pricey cars and trucks. That’s not to mention what an insult it was to their owners, typically of more modest means.

So, last year’s turnabout by the Legislature — under pressure from the public, of course — would seem to have made amends. Only, that wasn’t the end of it.

It turns out Colorado’s reputation as a car-theft capital lingers. Just last week, an auto-insurance industry consortium’s website, autoinsurance.com, still regarded Colorado as No. 1.

“According to the FBI, Colorado has the highest rate of auto theft of all states, at 786 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants,” the website warned motorists in a post titled, “You’re more likely to experience car theft if you live here.”

It’s dated information, but auto-insurance consumers — some of whom may have been poised to move to the Centennial State — don’t know that. Autoinsurance.com is likely only one such forum helping to perpetuate our state’s reputation as a playground for auto thieves, i.e., a place other Americans should avoid. Such publicity can have a ripple effect.

It represents another consequence of the soft-on-crime policies our Legislature has adopted in the name of “justice reform.” And while lawmakers did an about-face on auto-theft, their predilection for “equity” for convicts over justice for victims continues to dominate policymaking on crime and punishment in general. Whether decriminalizing hard drugs, relaxing parole standards or easing constraints on releasing dangerous criminal suspects, our state’s would-be justice reformers have made Colorado’s streets more dangerous.

All of which is giving the state a look of lawlessness and disorder. It’s a sad irony considering Colorado’s long-standing image as a clean, green and wholesome place that has drawn visitors and new residents alike for generations.

Founding father Ben Franklin is credited with observing, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” A couple of centuries later, wealth builder Warren Buffett put it more bluntly, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

If only Colorado’s current crop of lawmakers could muster such foresight.

The Gazette Editorial board