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DENVER (KDVR) — Violent youth crime has been at high plateau for five years, part of an upward swing in violent crime across all age groups.

The number of violent crimes has risen more than 50% since 2014, rising every year except 2019. Violent crime spiked in 2020 and reached an all-time high in 2022. The graph below is a 15-year snapshot compiled from Colorado Bureau of Investigation data, which goes back to 2008.

The number of violent crimes committed by people under the age of 18 has stayed consistent since 2018 for every year but 2020. In 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, there were between 3,200 and 3,400 of these crimes.

This is a notable uptick from 10 years ago. In 2011, there were 2,230 violent crimes committed by offenders under 18.

Violent youth offenders are heavily concentrated in a few counties along Colorado’s Front Range.

Adams County has the state’s largest share of violent youth offenders. In 2022, over 22% of the state’s violent youth offenders were in Adams County, which has less than 10% of Colorado’s population.

Denver has the second largest share, with over 17% of the state’s violent youth offenders. El Paso County has the third-highest with 14%.

This follows the broader trend of violent crime in Colorado, where half is concentrated in Adams and Denver counties alone.