As Crime Fell In U.S., Violent Crime Increased In Colorado

DENVER, CO – New FBI data shows crime once again fell for the 16th consecutive year in the United States — largely due to continued declines in property offenses — but Colorado saw an uptick in crimes, including an increase in violent crimes. The FBI recently published its final analysis of "Crime in the United States, 2017," finding that violent crime nationwide fell slightly 0.2 percent compared to 2016. That followed two consecutive years of increases.

As the number of crimes continues to fall, despite the country's growing population, the violent crime rate fell too, by 0.9 percent last year. The violent crime rate in 2017 was 394 per 100,000 residents, down from 397.5 in 2016. There were also 17,284 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters last year, a tick down 1.45 percent.

In Colorado, the violent crime rate was lower than the national rate, at 368.1 per 100,000 residents. That includes 221 murders and non-negligent manslaughters in 2017. The murder rate in Colorado was 2.9 per 100,000 people, lower than the national rate of 5.3. The metro-Denver area reported a rate of 413.9 crimes per 100,000 people in 2017. Compared to 2016, the number of violent crimes reported statewide in Colorado rose by 8.4 percent from 19,030 to 20,638.

Property crimes dropped nearly 4 percent nationwide. The FBI estimated there were 2,362.2 property crimes per 100,000 Americans nationwide. That’s down from 2,451.6 in 2016, and lower than Colorado where the property offense rate was 2,701.6 per 100,000 residents. Colorado's rate of property crime dropped from 2,750.1 per 100,000 people in 2016, or a drop of 1.8 percent.

The violent crimes that increased year-over-year in the state of Colorado were:

Source: FBI "Crime in the United States, 2017" report

The number of year-over-year reported burglaries in Colorado dropped in the state in 2017 by -4.2 percent from 23,825 in 2016 to 22,813 in 2017. Thefts that weren't motor-vehicle thefts declined by about 2 percent from 108,680 to 106,809.

Among other notable findings nationwide:

• There were an estimated 1.28 million violent crimes across the country.
• The estimated number of robberies fell 4 percent and the estimated number of murders and nonnegligent manslaughters fell 0.7 percent.
• The estimated number of aggravated assaults and rapes increased 1 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
• The number of burglaries plunged 7.6 percent while the number of larceny-thefts fell 2.2 percent.

• The FBI estimated there were 10.6 million arrests last year — and that excludes traffic violations.

Experts at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School said the crime rate for the 30 largest cities in America dropped about 1 percent and that the murder rate fell 2.4 percent. “Declines were especially pronounced in the largest cities,” the center wrote on its website. “In cities with populations over 1 million, murders decreased by 8.1 percent. In suburban areas — comprising more than a third of the country — murders dropped by 1.9 percent, essentially stabilizing.”

In Chicago, a city where killings have gained national headlines, the murder rate fell nearly 16 percent. There were 112 fewer killings in the city last year compared to 2016.

Overall, that trend is expected to continue this year, the center said. The 2018 murder rate in these cities is projected to be 7.6 percent lower than 2017 and will likely end up somewhere around the 2015 rate, which was near the bottom of the “historic” post-1990 decline.

The FBI crime report is based on data provided voluntarily by law enforcement agencies across the country. Violent crimes include murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

About 16,600 agencies submitted data last year out of more than 18,500 city, county, university and college, state, tribal and federal agencies.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images