Aurora addresses community car thefts with residents; some leery of leadership action

As car thefts continue to be a problem in the City of Aurora, Mayor Mike Coffman and Aurora Police Department spoke to residents on Saturday about efforts to combat crime in the city.

"They literally stole my car twice from the same place," Wonda Perez said.

"They asked me if i knew where my car was my answer was apparently not where I left it if you're asking me," James Walker said.

Both Aurora residents have had their cars stolen, they explained to CBS News Colorado.

Cracking down on those thefts and other crime is the city's top priority, Mayor Coffman has asserted.

APD says those crime rates are trending down. In the last 30 days, crime has gone down in every category except for burglary.

"We're down in car theft 30%," says Jad Lanigan, Special Operations Division Chief for APD, "We're down in violent crime 15%."

The city attributes those stats to recent changes, including mandatory minimum sentences for car theft and the recently revamped "DART" teams targeting violent crime.

"Direct Action Response Team, I think, has made a difference in getting some of these habitual criminals off the street that are responsible for the majority of crime in our city," Coffman said. "So I believe these numbers are gonna continue trending down."

"I think that was the best answer that Mayor Coffman could give us," Walker said.

"I don't have a feeling he was dismissive," Perez said.

Perez says she feels her concerns about crime were dismissed by city leadership, and she's frustrated by a lack of diversity at Saturday's meeting

"I did not see one person of color come in here," she said.

The mayor also spoke about strategies he's considering to increase affordable housing access in Aurora, including redeveloping motels on Colfax and creating a navigation center for the city's unhoused.  

"I certainly hope to see more people here that represent the city," said Coffman when asked about the diversity concern.