Is violent crime going up in Colorado? New FBI data explains

(NEXSTAR) – A massive data dump of 11 million criminal offenses reported to the FBI paints a complicated picture of crime in the United States, as well as Colorado.

In 2022, violent crime overall, which includes homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, dropped modestly. Violent crime was 1.7% lower in 2022 than in 2021, the FBI said. The drop brings violent violent crime back to pre-pandemic levels, though not as low as it was between 2013 and 2015.

The data, released Monday, shows that while violent crime dropped nationwide in 2022, it increased in Colorado, continuing a COVID-era trend.

Last year, Colorado saw 492.5 violent crimes per 100,000 people, up from 480.4 in 2021 and 423.1 in 2020.

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The FBI relies on reporting by local law enforcement agencies to compile its report on the state of crime around the country. The agency estimates its data covers about 94% of the population. More than 230 law enforcement agencies in Colorado submitted data, covering roughly 99% of the state’s population.

Violent crime rate in Colorado and the U.S.

While the murder rate nationwide dropped 6.1% between 2021 and 2022, Colorado’s increased, reaching the national average of about 6 homicides per 100,000 annually.

The murder rate in the U.S. jumped 29% during the pandemic, which created huge social disruption and upended support systems.

Richard Rosenfeld, criminal justice professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said the drop in violence can be attributed largely to the fact that the “stresses and strains” associated with the pandemic have abated.

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“By and large what we’re seeing is simply a return to something approaching normal after the big changes associated with the pandemic,” Rosenfeld said.

Homicide rate in Colorado the U.S.

Colorado did not experience the increase in property crimes the nation did — these crimes spiked by more than 7% in the U.S. last year. A large jump in motor vehicle theft contributed to that rise.

Here in Colorado, the property crimes rate has been well above the national average since the mid-2010s. In 2022, there were 3,147.6 property crime offenses reported per 100,000 in the Centennial State, far greater than the 1,954.4 per 100,000 reported nationwide.

The FBI said carjackings nationwide increased 8.1% from 2021, and the vast majority of carjackings involved an assailant with a weapon. Someone was injured in more than a quarter of all carjackings.

Burglary, larceny, and arson also count as property crimes.

In Colorado, burglaries, larcenies, and robberies decreased while motor vehicle thefts increased.

Property crime rate in Colorado the U.S.

The FBI is also increasingly tracking hate crimes, with more local law enforcement agencies reporting crimes that are motivated by bias. Last year, the FBI said it received more than 11,000 reports of hate crimes from around the country. Victims of these crimes were most frequently targeted for their race or ethnicity, followed by religion and then sexual orientation.

The most common type in each category were anti-Black hate crimes (for race/ethnicity), anti-Jewish crimes (for religion), and anti-gay male crimes (for sexual orientation).

There were more than 300 hate crimes reported in Colorado last year. In 182, the victims were targeted for their race, ethnicity, or ancestry. In nearly 70, it was because of the victim’s sexual orientation, and in almost 40, it was over their religion.

Anti-Black hate crimes were the most prevalent, according to the FBI data, making up 61 of the cases.

Though crime data for 2023 won’t be available from the FBI until late next year, experts expect the drop in violent crime to continue. A report released in July by nonpartisan think tank the Council on Criminal Justice used data from 37 surveyed cities. It found that murders dropped 9.4% in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022, but vehicle thefts rose a whopping 33.5%.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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