While overall crime is up only .9 percent in Denver Police District 3, violent crime is up 8 percent compared to the same period in 2016. District 3 includes Washington Park, Platt Park, Baker, University Hills, Hilltop, Cherry Creek, Overland, Rosedale and surrounding neighborhoods.
Homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault are all classified as violent crimes. There have been five murders so far this year in District 3 versus two in 2016.
“In 2017, we have seen an increase of crime in some categories. One of our biggest concerns is in the area of homicide. We have had an increase, but there is no significant trend or reason contributing to the increase. It appears the majority of the homicides are isolated incidents,” said Denver Police Spokesman Sonny Jackson via email.
Aggravated assault is up 17.2 percent, with 259 incidents reported compared to 221 in the previous year. The number of rapes was flat with 60 reported cases in 2017 and 2016. Robberies decreased 7.6 percent.
There are likely multiple factors contributing to the rise in violent crime. When asked about this, Jackson said, “Denver’s population growth is an area we are looking at as a contributing factor to the increase in crime in our community.”
“The Denver Police Department remains concerned about crime in our community whether it’s going up or down. We meet weekly with all six district commanders, major crimes, and representatives of all the sections of the Denver Police Department to look at crime trends throughout the city and how best to prevent them. We continually adjust resources and develop plans to address criminal activity in an area. Crime prevention is one of our main goals,” continued Jackson.
District 3 is not an anomaly when it comes to an increase in violent crime. Since 2014, the statewide murder rate jumped more than 20 percent, according to a recent Colorado Public Radio report. However, Colorado’s overall violent crime rate is 17 percent lower than the national average.
While any increase in crime is troubling, Denver is safer than some other comparably sized cities. Detroit has roughly the same population but five times more murders were committed there in 2016. Baltimore has about 78,000 fewer residents, but had over six times more homicides last year. The murder rate in Denver is also roughly half what it was in the mid-1990s.
Data for this article was pulled from denvergov.org police records. It is dynamic and may vary from previous or subsequent reports.
