Colorado has been one of only two states without a law outlawing identity theft. That changes July 1, thanks to Jeffco Commissioner Jim Congrove, who realized the need for such a law four years ago and has been rallying support for it ever since.

Congrove's foresight, and that of Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey, along with State Representative Bill Crane, R-Arvada, and Investigator Chris Nelson of the Jeffco Sheriff's Office, has resulted in a bill that passed both houses of the State Legislature this year and was signed into law by Governor Bill Owens. It carries strict penalties for anyone who steals another person's identity, making it a class four felony with a mandatory jail sentence of 2 to 12 years for a second or subsequent offense.

Congrove first realized the pressing need for an identity theft law after hearing a presentation by Jeffco Sheriff's investigator Chris Nelson. Without a law in this state, it was difficult to prosecute offenders, and therefore no way to deter people from committing more ID theft crimes.

Storey, who helped convince the Legislature to adopt the bill, said, "Jim Congrove started this whole thing before he was even elected commissioner. He was the one who recognized the need for an identity theft law and convinced State Representative Bill Crane to carry the bill."

In 2003, Congrove called together a group of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, bankers and other business people, along with Storey, who at the time was a prosecutor with the district attorney's office, and Rep. Crane. Crane carried the bill to the Legislature where it gained support for the concept but failed because of fiscal concerns in both 2004 and 2005. 

Co-sponsored by Crane and Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, it passed in 2006 with bipartisan support, the active involvement of the Colorado District Attorney's Council, and growing awareness throughout the state of the seriousness of identity theft crimes.

The law pulls many related offenses - forgery, criminal impersonation, possession of forged documents - into one comprehensive section of the fraud statute entitled Identity Theft.  Another section also makes gathering "identity information by deception" - such as calling people and pretending to gather information for a give-away - a class five felony. Previously, prosecutors could prosecute some identity theft crimes under property and other laws, but the penalties were not severe enough to be a strong deterrent.

Storey sits on the legislative committee of the CDAC, which had both identity theft and  methamphetamines as priorities this year. He feels the two crimes are very interrelated and often, the perpetrators are the same.
"This is a big win for Colorado," said Crane, who credits Congrove for insisting he learn more about identity theft and urging him to carry the bill. 

Colorado is ranked 5th in the country for identity theft, for the second year in a row, according to the Federal Trade Commission statistics for 2005. For more information on identity theft, see the district attorney's Web site at www.jeffco.us/da and the sheriff's Web site at www.jeffco.us/sheriff and enter identity theft in the search box.