Colorado Police Department Hands Out Free AirTags to Deter Vehicle Theft

Toggle Dark Mode
Apple’s AirTags provide a great way to track the location of your favorite items, even when they’re something as big as a car (My wife and I have hidden AirTags in both our vehicles, just in case). Now, a Colorado police department is giving them away for free as part of an effort to deter auto theft.
CBS Colorado recently shared a story on its YouTube channel about the Arvada, Colorado police department’s event to offer the distribution of free AirTags, as well as other brands of tracking tiles.
CBS says that police are attempting to decrease the number of auto thefts by distributing free AirTags and Tile trackers to vehicle-owning members of the community. The first such giveaway recently took place, and police have another planned.
In addition to the AirTag, the giveaway includes a sticker that can be placed on a vehicle, warning potential car thieves that police can track the vehicle if it’s stolen, as the vehicle is “Tracker Equipped.”
Authorities didn’t reveal how many AirTags had been purchased by the police, although they did say that half of the available trackers were given away at the event.
One local resident who has been a victim of auto theft said that he was all for the program. “Hopefully, it’s a deterrent, you know, with the stickers they provide for somebody stealing my vehicle,” he said, “and if it does get stolen, it’s very good… so I’ll get my car back.”
Privacy advocates will be glad to know that the AirTag giveaway does not automatically give police the ability to track your vehicle. The vehicle owners will need to share the location of the AirTag with authorities to help police track down the purloined vehicle.
Recently, Apple rolled out the ability for AirTag users to share the location of a lost, tagged item (like a vehicle) with other parties. While it’s geared toward helping airlines track lost luggage, it will also make it easier to share an AirTag’s location with police.
The new feature requires an iPhone, iPad, or Mac running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2, respectively. Users can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their device and share it with police or anyone else searching for the vehicle. Recipients of the link will need to sign in with an Apple ID or be part of an authorized Apple Partner to be able to view the link. Once they’ve done that, they can track the item’s location on an interactive map, automatically updating as it moves while displaying a timestamp of the most recent location update.
The Arvada, Colorado police department isn’t the first to offer AirTags to track vehicles in their jurisdiction. In 2024, Washington D.C. officials handed out AirTags to district residents who lived in areas with high vehicle theft numbers, hoping the trackers would cut down on the number of thefts.
The New York City police department also offers a similar program, which also began in 2024. New York City officials and NYPD officers handed out 500 AirTags to citizens to discourage car theft and carjackings in the city while also making it easier to track down the stolen vehicles.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams said the AirTags are “a 21st-century” policing initiative to track stolen cars, and he called the AirTags a “really amazing piece of ingenuity.”