DENVER — The Colorado State Patrol and local agencies have received nearly 2,000 citizen complaints about illegal street racing in 2024, which led to hundreds of citations, more than a dozen arrests and 11 vehicle impoundments, according to the CSP.
"We are using everything at our disposal to make sure we are getting them off the street so that way we do have those safer communities and safer neighborhoods," said CSP Trooper Gabriel Moltrer.
The Street Racing Working Group (SRWG), which was created to address the continued dangers presented by illegal street racing, logged 1,959 citizen complaints on its website last year, the CSP said in a news release Monday.
The SRWG, which is comprised of law enforcement, attorneys, and support staff, worked to reduce illegal street racing with 506 traffic contacts, 360 citations, 16 arrests, and 11 vehicle impoundments, according to the release. It also seized illegal weapons and stolen vehicles.
The Englewood Police Department is one of several SRWG participants. The department's strategy includes contacting organizers of events that may lead to drag races afterward, working with property owners for trespass agreements and other proactive enforcement, a spokesperson said in a statement to Denver7 last week.
Englewood
Englewood to consider impound rule changes as deterrent for street racing
The CSP said the SRWG will continue its efforts in 2025, targeting street racers and seizing vehicles involved in such activities.
In an interview with Denver7 Tuesday, Moltrer explained street racing is a hard crime to tackle because of the type of vehicles used.
"Vehicles may have that extra supercharged engine or a bigger engine," said Moltrer. "If it makes it too hard for an officer to try to contact them, we don't want to put the public in any danger."
Street racing complaints from citizens were up more than 25% from 2023 to 2024. In 2023, there were 1,533 street racing complaints, according to data from the CSP. However, in 2024, there were 65 fewer traffic citations issued.
Moltrer said officers will target problem areas in 2025.
"We will see an increase in officer traffic, whether that be State Patrol, other agencies, or two local agencies such as the sheriff's departments or police departments," said Moltrer.
Moltrer said the community can report illegal street racing by dialing *CSP (*277).
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