LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — The Lakewood Police Department is inviting the community to take part in a new program that includes free tools aimed at combating auto theft.

“Basically, the police department got a grant, and what we’re trying to do is harden cars so it’s harder to steal them, or a deterrent,” Sgt. Steve Boatwright with the auto theft team at LPD said.

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On Saturday, LPD hosted a free walk-in event to get people started. People like Belinda Blake and Sally Snyder know firsthand how quickly someone can steal a car.

Blake recalled how on May 21, she received a frantic phone call from her neighbor, who said that her car had been stolen.

“It was raining and cold and she had to get to the doctor’s office,” Blake said. “There was construction so she couldn’t pull into the doctor’s office, so she parked it on the side of the street. She swore she locked it and when she got back, her car was gone.”

When Blake answered the call, she said Snyder was crying and her heart sank. She told Snyder to see if her dealership had put a tracker in her car, and then she headed over to pick her up.

“I went across the street to Safeway and I reported it to police right away,” Snyder said.

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She added that since her car was a newer Subaru, her dealership told her she could activate her tracker and share its location with police. Within two hours, she said LPD had found her car.

“So happy she got her car back, it really meant a lot to her,” Blake said of the car given to Snyder by her husband before he passed away.

With this incident still fresh in their minds, the moment the police department’s auto theft reduction and recovery program launched, Snyder told all her neighbors to attend the walk-in event on Saturday and get their car equipped with a small GPS tracking device, like the Apple Air Tag or a Tile Tracker, as well as a club to place over their steering wheel and a decal for the window to deter potential auto thieves.

“Hopefully, they look at that and they’ll go on to something else,” Boatwright said.

Boatwright added that while the tracking devices won’t prevent a car from being stolen, they can help law enforcement recover a car more quickly. The way it works is the device can sync up to a driver’s phone. Police will not have access to that information unless the driver chooses to share that information with them.

“All we do is help install,” Boatwright said. “If their car gets stolen, they then have to share it just like in the Apple programs where you can share ‘Find my iPhone’ and stuff like that. It’s the same thing.”

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The police department said this is a step to combat motor vehicle theft in the state of Colorado. The state may be first in the country, but according to a report by the Colorado Department of Public Safety, motor vehicle thefts are down 21%. According to the report, Colorado experienced 32,976 reported stolen vehicles in 2023, compared to 41,656 in 2022.

Now, LPD said its agents hope to keep that trend going, and they are encouraging others to make an appointment with their department to gain access to these tools to help prevent auto theft, and if there car is stolen, recover it quickly.

In the meantime, during their walk-in event, LPD said there was a good turnout and agents helped 105 people better protect their cars against theft.

“It’s nice seeing people taking charge of that,” Boatwright said. “They’re taking an active role in making sure their car doesn’t get stolen or they can get it back real quick.”

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