Casper Police Report 35% Decrease in Stolen Firearms Following ‘Lock it Up’ Campaign

The Casper Police Department has released some statistics on firearm thefts, following their two-month campaign 'The Day is Done, Where's Your Gun;' a social media campaign designed to remind gun owners to secure their homes, cars, and firearms.

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"The primary goal of the campaign was to bring awareness to a troubling issue in Casper, firearms left inside of unattended vehicles," the CPD wrote on their Facebook page. "Paired with an ongoing issue of auto-burglaries within the community, the number of stolen firearms has been increasing in Casper over the last several years. This campaign is one of the many ways the Casper Police Department is addressing the specific issue of keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals."

From November to January, the CPD would take to social media at the end of every day with a post, reminding Casper residents to make sure they knew where their firearms were located. "The day is done, where's your gun?" the post would ask.

The police department stated that the campaign ran from November 8, 2021- January 8, 2022. Between those dates, fifteen firearms were stolen in Casper. Comparatively speaking, twenty three firearms were stolen the year before during that same time period, and twenty four firearms were stolen the year before that.

In comparing those periods of times over the last three years, there was a 35% decrease in stolen firearms this year in Casper.

“Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals is a top effort of the Casper Police Department,” said Casper Police Investigations Lieutenant Ben Mattila. “Our investigations uncover stolen firearms and the use of stolen firearms in many crimes in our community. The primary goal of this campaign was to not only decrease the number of stolen firearms – but to also bring a strong awareness to this issue. We remain committed to the citizens of Casper to bring those responsible for committing these crimes to justice while continuing our efforts to bring awareness to ways we can work together with our community to keep Casper safe.”