2023…The Summer of Violence

While laws and budget decisions can meaningfully address these issues, they can also make things worse.

From 2010 to 2022, the study identified 42 bills, passed by the Colorado legislature that impacted sentencing, incarceration, parole and release, length of stay, and recidivism. Colorado’s prison population decreased by 28%, “resulting in a dramatic number of people being reintegrated into society”. During that same time frame, Colorado’s crime rate skyrocketed by 32%.

This session the legislature did take a few steps in the right direction by banning ghost guns and changing the penalty for motor vehicle theft, but as the ranking illuminates, there is much more work to be done. Colorado leaders must do a deep dive and identify policy and budget spending solutions.

CSI also showed how having more uniformed police officers is associated with lower crime rates when comparing Colorado’s two largest cities. Between 2010 and 2012, the number of Colorado Springs uniformed officers per resident increased by 5.7% and its crime rate decreased by 15.9%. Conversely, in Denver, the number of uniformed police officers per resident decreased by 15.1% and its crime rate rose 32%.