Colorado is under the grip of two concurrent epidemics; COVID-19, and crime. Both are taking their toll in terms of irrevocable financial loss and lives severely disrupted or even cut short; but only one – the crime epidemic – is largely self-inflicted.
The numbers — taken from any reliable source, including the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Denver Police Department using the National Incident-Based Reporting System — reveal a grim, if clear, picture: Violent crime is up in Denver, with aggravated assault leading the way with a per-capita increase over last year of around 23%. Property crime throughout the city is up sharply as well, by nearly 12%; burglary is up by 36%, vandalism by 25%, and vehicle thefts by more than 15%. Tragically, murder is up as well. In the first half of the year, January-July, Denver suffered 47 murders — 14 more than reported over the same time frame a year earlier. In the first eight days of July, eight people were murdered in Denver. An additional 10 survived being shot or stabbed.
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Read the rest of this editorial in the Colorado Springs Gazette.