This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

AAA Colorado has joined with the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority (CATPA) and other key state and law enforcement partners in a first-of-its-kind partnership to give Coloradans free devices to stop automotive theft. 

Car theft and related crimes are surging to historic levels in Colorado, per data from CATPA. Some jurisdictions report a 1000 percent increase in catalytic converter theft over 2019, while overall automotive theft is up 57 percent over 2020. All told, should these trends continue, Colorado will verge on twice the national per capita theft rate by the end of the year.

Catalytic converter theft is surging in Colorado. In 2019, 151 stolen catalytic converters were reported to Colorado law enforcement agencies. That number jumped to 930 for all of 2020 – a 520 percent increase. In 2021, year to date? A total of 2485 Coloradans have had their catalytic converter stolen – up 1556 percent over 2019 with fully half of the year ahead.

The sticker and its installation is free whenever motorists schedule regular maintenance at a participating AAA Approved Automotive Repair facility. You can learn more and schedule an appointment at AAA.com/Stop-Theft.