JEFFERSON COUNTY (CBS4) – A crime alert has been issued for drivers across the metro area and it’s a theft that can be hard to avoid even when taking precautions.

Police are looking for thieves stealing rims from cars in parking lots. Since May they’ve seen a spike in the crimes in Douglas, Arapahoe, and Jefferson counties.

When people are coming out of their hotel they’re finding their rental car sitting on cinder blocks and all four wheels stolen, but it’s the rims that deputies say the thieves want.

It’s happened 15 times through Arapahoe, Jefferson and Douglas counties. In most cases the rims being stolen are stock or factory made, not custom made. The car types being hit run the gamut from Denalis to a Mitsubishi Gallant.

Police say when all four are swiped from a car, the cost to replace them gets expensive.

(credit: CBS)

“What we’re seeing in a few cases, we’ve seen rims as much as $2,000 per rim, even higher,” Deputy Chad Teller said. “So it certainly is the rim that they’re after, not the vehicle.”

Police say to park in well lit, heavily populated parking lots. They also recommend using a valet if possible.