DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado clocked back-to-back record years for violent and property crime in 2020 and 2021.
The crime wave in 2020 turned out not to be a wave at all, but the beginning of a multi-year trend. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation hasn’t released final numbers on Colorado’s crimes just yet, but preliminary totals say 2021 was an even worse year for Colorado crime than the record-breaking 2020.
Crime rose as dramatically in 2021 as it did in 2020. The number of violent crimes rose 8.5% in 2021. Property crimes rose by 9%.
The rising numbers of murders and aggravated assaults led to a spike in violent crime. The number of murders rose by 17% in 2021 from 301 to 352 — the highest-ever murder count in Colorado history two years running.
Aggravated assaults, which are the majority of violent crimes, rose 11%. There were another 230 more robberies statewide in 2021 than in 2020.
Property crimes rose by roughly the same proportions as violent crimes.
Property crimes were led by non-physical crimes and auto theft.
Identity thefts rose 73% in 2021, while wire fraud rose 26% and hacking/computer invasion 23%.
Colorado continues to be one of the states with the highest rates of auto theft. Motor thefts themselves rose by 31% in 2021. Thefts of auto parts such as catalytic converters rose by 49%.