Report: Crime on the rise in Colorado
Brauchler defends report asking, “If you have other, better data, provide it”
Penalty reduction and decriminalization of a variety of crimes in Colorado have led to increased crime and less public safety, a report released Monday by the Common Sense Institute reads.
“We are seeing a trend that indicates crime is increasing in the State of Colorado overall,” said George Brauchler, the former 18th Judicial District district attorney and a fellow with the Common Sense Institute. “When it comes to homicide, property crimes, car theft and overdoses, you see an ongoing and unabated increase.” CRIME_REPORT_OCT2022 The report finds crime increased in the categories of arson, drug possession, motor vehicle theft, prostitution, purchase of stolen property, robbery and vandalism.
Joining Brauchler in releasing the report were Mitch Morrissey, formerly a 2nd Judicial District district attorney, and Common Sense Institute economist Dr. Steven Byers.
While the report indicates areas of “significant and I think promising decline,” Brauchler said, Colorado continues to lead the nation in auto theft and ranks second in property crimes, he added.
“We’re a 13% increase in auto theft this coming year,” Morrissey said. “Not only were we No. 1 coming in…i don’t have any doubt we’re going to continue that No. 1 status at the end of the year.”
Of an estimated 48,000 vehicles that will be stolen in 2022 in Colorado, the report estimates about 32,000 will be recovered. In 2021, the report indicates 37,000 vehicles were stolen. Vehicle thefts will rise by an estimated 20,000 in two years, the report reads.
“I’ve seen very little progress and very little effort from the policy makers in the State of Colorado,” Morrissey said.
The average monthly crime rate has increased by 20% since 2008, Byers added.
“We wanted to know was this something that was driven by COVID,” Morrissey said, explaining the impetus for the study. “We’re seeing a huge reduction in fraud, because the COVID money is not
out there to steal anymore. The rest of this is not COVID related. This surge is not going away.”
The crime rate is in excess of the pre-pandemic era, Brauchler said, theorizing the rising crime rate is a direct result of recent policy change.
“It’s either a coincidence or it is a discussion of causation,” he said.
The report found Pueblo ranked among the top 10 in all 10 categories analyzed by the FBI’S Quarterly Uniform Crime Report, after ranking among the top 10 in six categories in 2021. Denver ranks among the top 10 in four categories and Aurora ranks among the top 10 in two categories.
“It is a good judgment of where we sit,” Morrissey said. “The good news here is Denver is not first in auto theft, it is second.”
Brauchler complained that there are some who dislike the data and the information drawn from it, and so are critical of the report.
“If you have other, better data, provide it,” Brauchler said. “We will definitely consider it and incorporate it. This is the information that is publicly available by the organizations we have long trusted to provide accurate information. None of this is good news.”
Analyzing fentanyl usage in Colorado, Morrissey projected fatal overdosage will increase from three deaths per day to above four, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
“We need to take fentanyl a whole lot more seriously,” he said. “It is killing people in their mid-20s to their mid-40s. We need to address this. The governor demanded something and then didn’t get what he demanded from the legislature.”
In the first five months of 2022, law enforcement seized more fentanyl than in all of 2021, the report reads.
“Law enforcement is serious about fentanyl,” Morrissey said.
“That’s just state patrol,” Brauchler said. “They are one state law enforcement agency. If that’s what state patrol gathered, imagine what DEA Denver and local sheriffs gathered.”
Colorado ranks 16th among all states in all overdose deaths, a rise of seven places since 2021, the report reads, with two-thirds of the deaths among those ages 15-44.
“We must acknowledge, you can’t build a house with just a hammer, but you can’t build a house without a hammer,” Brauchler said. “In part, that hammer has to take the form of holding people accountable on the front end when they have shown a willingness to commit crimes repeatedly. We don’t need to have three or four cars stolen in a three-month period before you start to have a sense they are going to reoffend. We can do it a lot earlier and think about all the victims that we’ll be protecting.”