Slashed tires and cut-out license plates are a growing trend across Denver and Aurora. Here's what to look out for as authorities investigate these car crimes.
At the end of January, over a dozen cars needed to have their tires replaced in the Denver area. Car owners across Sixth and Eighth street woke up to find at least two of their tires slashed. The vandalism reportedly happened between 3 and 6 a.m. Many believe children vandals are to blame for the slashing. Since then, over three dozen more cases of tire slashing have been reported around the same area. People are growing tired of the continued hassle of waking up to their tires slashed, and having to pay for their new tires. Overall, 38 tires have been slashed at night on three different occasions. As authorities are investigating the string of slashing, a new string of car crimes has arisen. Thieves are now cutting out new registration stickers on plates in Aurora.
We can all agree tire slashing is a strange and random crime to commit. Victims and some authorities are chalking it up to some ill humored kids prank. But, the cases are still under investigation. Stealing registration stickers obviously has more criminal intent backing them.
Several things are required to renew your registration stickers. Your title, proof of insurance, emissions testing (if applicable), and of course a DMV registration fee. By simply cutting off a few stickers, these criminals skirt around those pesky DMV lines and avoid fees. They could also continue driving uninsured vehicles and even make a profit selling off other stickers collected.
Those who had their stickers, and chunks of their plates stolen now have extra fees to worry about to get new stickers. They also can’t drive around until they have new plates and stickers, making life pretty complicated for the next few days.
The cut-plates are under investigation by the Aurora Police Department. It’s suggested car owners who put forth the effort to purchase their own renewal stickers, get clear plastic coverings to protect their plates. You must get totally clear covers so your numbers are not visually obscured. But this will make your car less likely to get vandalized.
To prevent your tires from getting slashed or your sticker stolen, make sure to park your car where you can see it from your home. It seems these criminals are striking street-parked cars or cars in apartment buildings. Contact your apartment owners to beef up security or to install more cameras to ensure that if a crime happens, it can be properly reported and investigated. Same goes if you have your own home. Park in your driveway and maybe invest in a camera to catch crooks red handed.
If you have any information regarding who may be behind the tire slashing, Denver police are offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information that could lead to an arrest. Call Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-STOP (7867). You can also text CRIMES (274637) and title DMCS and enter in your information. Lastly, you could simply send an email to metro-denvercrimestoppers.com All calls and sources of information remain anonymous.
