CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office is using a specialized team of SWAT officers to combat auto theft, and it seems to be working.

The Special Response Team (SRT) consists of eight SWAT members who operate in groups of four to six to apprehend car thieves.

“The specialty training that we have, we can conduct surveillance, we can follow these vehicles, and we can use the combined tactics that we have as SWAT team members to safely make arrests a little bit better than patrol can,” Sgt. Nick Rodriguez told Denver7.

According to the sheriff’s office, auto thefts have dropped 36% from 2023 to 2024, while the number of arrests has doubled, increasing from 40 to 84.

SRT dedicates much of its time to proactive enforcement, including surveillance in high-crime areas and analyzing crime trends. The team also credits technology for its success. Flock safety cameras, or license plate readers, provide deputies with real-time location and travel patterns of suspected car thieves.

“Accessing these cameras, we can check the patterns, we can figure out where and when these people are traveling and determine a strategic way to locate them and arrest them,” Rodriguez said.

The team has observed a shift in car theft trends: vehicles are no longer stolen for joyrides.

“A lot of times, people don’t know that there’s a lot more depth to these crimes. When we do contact these stolen vehicles, whether it be the criminals inside have extensive warrants for other violent crimes or they are committing another violent crime therein, it can evolve very rapidly,” Deputy Matt Foster told Denver7.

According to the team, stolen vehicles are frequently used in burglaries, robberies, drug-related crimes and homicides.

“You see these people crashing cars into vape stores and committing these burglaries. They’re doing home invasion robberies. They do it one day [and] they get bonded out the next day,” Rodriguez told Denver7.

Foster added that the suspects they apprehend are often armed, meaning encounters can quickly escalate into a chase or physical fight.

“I think one of the important things that our members of the community understand is that that’s why our response may seem over the top with SWAT members doing this type of stuff, but it really isn’t. We’re out there dealing with these violent criminals every single day, and the need is there,” Foster said.

The sheriff’s office said it now has one of the lowest motor vehicle theft rates in the state, according to C-MATT data, a statewide auto theft task force.

Beyond tackling auto theft, the SRT also executes high-risk warrants, provides security details, and handles routine patrols.