Making Colorado One of the Ten Safest States: Governor Polis and Department of Public Safety Announce Significant Reduction in Violent and Property Crime Between 2023-2024

DENVER - Today, Governor Polis and the Colorado Department of Public Safety announced new data showing a steady decline in crime across categories in Colorado following the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report showing crime rates have declined nationally.

"Every Coloradan deserves the opportunity to live in a safe and healthy community. By cracking down on crime and giving law enforcement and community organizations the support needed to protect our communities, we are helping keep people, property, and our communities safer across Colorado, but there is more hard work ahead to achieve our goal of making Colorado one of the ten safest states. We thank Colorado's public safety professionals for their hard work in these shared efforts," said Governor Polis.

The report, based on current data, shows notable decreases in Colorado's violent and property crimes. Violent crimes in Colorado have decreased by 15% overall in the past year (2023 Q2 to 2024 Q2), including a 27% decrease in murder, a 15% decrease in non-consensual sexual offense, a 16% decrease in robbery, and a 15% decrease in aggravated assault.

Property crimes in Colorado have decreased by more than 25%, including a 33% reduction in motor vehicle theft statewide, a 23% reduction in burglaries, and a 23% reduction in larceny.

Governor Polis has built on his commitment to make Colorado one of the Top Ten Safest States, signing bills into law to crack down on auto theft, protect Coloradans from gun violence, and provide grants to community-based organizations focused on proven crime prevention strategies to ensure our communities are safe. Under Governor Polis almost every category of crime decreased in 2023, including auto theft and violent crimes. For example, in Denver alone, catalytic converter theft is down 95% compared to the prior year. This follows state and local legislative action to crack down on the crime.

One major recent highlight is the early success of SB24-003, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Authority to Investigate Firearms Crimes in concert with the public safety community, sponsored by Senator Tom Sullivan, and Representatives Meg Froelich and Monica Duran, which provided CBI with greater capacity to investigate and crackdown on illegal firearm activity. Governor Polis called for this action in his 2024 State of the State address and Colorado communities are already benefiting from it.

After going into effect on August 7, the law has helped the Colorado Bureau of Investigation successfully decrease the number of illegal firearms in Colorado, with over 40 firearms seized by the unit, and has made upwards of 30 arrests in relation to illegal firearm sales and carry.

This includes:

• 21 Instacheck Referrals
• 30 Arrests For Illegal Firearm Possession
• 42 Total Illegal Firearms Seized (21 stolen)
  23 Handguns
  16 Long Guns
• 3 Ghost Guns or Privately Made Firearms
• 2 straw purchases or purchases an individual makes with the intent of illegally giving or selling to someone else
• 1 Magazine Violation

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