Law authorities said Tuesday night that they are putting extra resources into getting a handle on an unprecedented theft increase that is a byproduct of an underlying drug problem in Flathead County.

Representatives from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Flathead County Attorney’s Office and Kalispell Police Department gave tips about how citizens can help law enforcement keep the community safe.

“We have been more busy than we ever have before,” Kalispell Police Detective Andy Haag said of the recent theft wave.

According to data compiled in the past month, there were 74 vehicles stolen from jurisdictions within Flathead County. Forty-seven of those cases involved all-terrain vehicles, campers and trailers. Twenty-one involved personal vehicles or motorcycles. The remainder were other types of vehicles.

The vehicles and other goods are being stolen and traded to pay for drugs and drug debts, the officers said. The major drug involved is methamphetamine smuggled from Mexico and other countries in central America. A decade ago, Montana and other states cracked down on sale of over-the-counter cough medicines that greatly reduced the number of domestic meth labs in the area and made it more lucrative to import the drug.

There has also been a resurgence in heroin use, especially among teens and young adults, the officers said, but it is not nearly as prominent as meth.

Haag said the thieves are not particularly inventive at accessing their loot.

“The big thing is to lock your stuff up,” Haag said. “Rarely do we get windows broken out. Typically they are just checking door handles.”

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said local law enforcement agencies recently met to figure out how to crack down on thefts and burglaries.

“It is priority one for us,” Curry said.

The working group identified a small group of individuals believed to have been involved in the thefts and went after them, Curry said. Several arrests have been made.

One area where officers cracked down was extra patrol for storage units. In the first night of patrol, officers checked 87 units for burglaries. Since the extra patrol was initiated, six people have been arrested for burglary of storage units — including some who were caught in the act.

Curry said officers have made a dent in the problem, but there are ways the public can help protect themselves.

Flathead County Sheriff’s Det. Brandy Hinzman said one of the biggest challenges her deputies face is linking criminals with stolen property and reuniting stolen items with their rightful owners.

She said officers often know that a mid-20s male suspect is likely not the owner of a Hello Kitty iPad, but that officers can’t add the goods to the aggregate value of what was stolen unless the item has been reported stolen. People can help by keeping a log of serial numbers and distinguishing markings on their property.

Being able to identify property as stolen not only helps reunite it with an owner, but also has an ultimate impact on the consequences a thief or burglar faces.

The aggregate value of items stolen must be worth more than $1,500 for a felony to be charged, Flathead County Prosecutor Travis Ahner explained. Little thefts help add up to that mark. Being charged with a felony means that offenders have access to mental health and drug treatment, which many of the criminals can’t afford otherwise. Private treatment in Flathead County can cost as much as $5,000 per week, Ahner said.

Those charged with only a misdemeanor are likely to be sentenced to jail time, and because of a shortage of jail space, the perpetrators usually get out of lock-up without serving all of their time.

“We are at a crisis point right now,” Curry said of the space shortage in the jail.

Creative ideas are in the works for handing jail overflow, but right now a solution is unclear after a plan to purchase the old Walmart building in Evergreen fell through, Curry said.

He encouraged people to follow the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page to stay abreast of advisories and help officers identify suspects caught on security cameras.

Those who are social-media-shy can stay in the loop by checking out flatheadcountysheriff.com and signing up for email updates. There are also real-time crime maps online that show recent criminal activity in a certain areas.

Reporter Megan Strickland may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at [email protected].