Denver neighborhood crime doesn’t always match city trends. Here’s why.

Denver bureaucrats have heralded profitable efforts to reduce homicides and gun violence in the city but several Denver neighborhoods have higher rates of property and violent crime than the citywide average Denver s crime statistics paint a nuanced picture of how society safety can change between neighborhoods and experts say there s no one answer for why crime increases in several areas and not others which means there s also not a single key to the predicament Denver has grown tremendously in the last years noted Stacey Hervey an affiliate professor of criminal justice and criminology at Metropolitan State University of Denver Any time you add more homes you ll see more crimes and you re also seeing an increase in opportunity Denver Police Department evidence breaks down incidents by neighborhood and type of crime ranging from murder to inhabitants disorder Citywide greater part violent crimes like sexual assault and murder decreased leading to fewer violent crimes in compared to for a total of But those trends don t necessarily translate to every neighborhood For example while Denverites released fewer aggravated assaults last year in the city overall folks in neighborhoods like Barnum and Cherry Creek saw the opposite trend Assaults tripled in Cherry Creek from nine in to in and increased by almost in Barnum from to according to the Denver Police Department s crime dashboard Property crimes in Denver followed a similar trend from to police input shows While those crimes decreased by citywide the number and types of property crimes that were revealed fluctuated widely people stealing from cars dropped by but other thefts increased by The different neighborhood trends in violent crimes also extend to property crimes like the number of burglaries staying relatively flat citywide but increasing by in Capitol Hill from in to in An increase in property crime doesn t necessarily mean more violent crime will follow Hervey revealed because they re often committed by different types of people A lot of our violent crime rates are driven by gangs or young people and they don t traditionally do property crimes which are often crimes of opportunity she mentioned like porch pirates or people stealing and pawning bicycles for quick cash There are plenty of theories about what influences crime rates disclosed Beverly Kingston director of the Center for the Evaluation and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder One theory Kingston has studied in Denver neighborhoods is social disorganization theory which suggests that society factors other than individual behavior contribute to crime In a examination Kingston and two colleagues revealed the biggest factors that can predict criminal behavior in young Denverites were objective poverty and the belief that they had limited opportunities for the future Those factors can look like children and teenagers not having access to a high-quality guidance or extracurricular exercises like summer camps The kids are oftentimes not getting those developmental requirements met by virtue of where they live and the support that they have Kingston reported Denver Police Sgt Brian Husum District anti-crime unit boots up his onboard computer before heading out on patrol in Denver on Thursday April Photo by Andy Cross The Denver Post For DPD Commander Brad Qualley and Sgt Brian Husum figuring out what s causing spikes in neighborhood crime is less an academic exercise and more a regular part of the job Qualley oversees the District precinct which includes most of of the city west of the South Platte River and south of West Sixth Avenue For the majority part that district is primarily a working-class society with hardworking folks Husum declared DPD authorities often look at increases in calls and crime information over the previous month to pinpoint areas of concern Qualley mentioned I do think particular of the trends or increases end up being area-specific and they re usually short-lived because we re able to identify who is responsible for that or they ve moved on he noted When they re not short-lived we start really focusing efforts on why that s happening in a specific area Chosen of those are comfort areas Husum reported places like a home apartment building or bus stop where people feel confident with criminal activity Police also look for corrupting locations or places where there s a lot of crime and try to determine what is allowing criminal behavior to flourish In one matter Husum s association began examining why stolen cars were repeatedly showing up at a bar near South Raritan Street and West Mississippi Avenue Police revealed that the bar owner was allowing drug and gun sales in the bar and arrested the people involved A judge later ordered the bar closed and crime dropped in the Athmar Park neighborhood as a outcome Husum declared Department facts shows violent crime in Athmar Park is down this year compared to the same time in The entire operation took about months It s not just finding and arresting criminals Husum revealed It s changing the circumstances For Kingston the good news is that research shows that crime is not an inevitable reality in Denver Protective factors like strong relationships with adults who care connecting at school and having positive friends and hobbies or interests they re passionate about and supported in are all linked to reduced crime rates We know without a doubt that crime can be prevented she commented Crime isn t so random There are reasons why it happens and we can do a lot to work upstream to prevent crime and intervene in the lives of people who are struggling and hurting and give them the aid they need Traffic moves along South Federal Blvd near the corner of West Cedar Ave in Denver on Thursday March Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post Another comfort area was a large apartment complex in the block of South Federal Boulevard that started seeing a high number of calls Qualley stated Related Articles Body camera footage shows Denver police firing dozens of times in police shooting outside Westwood middle school Carioca Cafe manager hopes to reopen legendary Denver dive bar after wall collapse Denver motorcyclist injured in hit-and-run on southbound I- Man shot by Denver police scrutinizing fireworks in Montbello Denver s naloxone vending machines dispense -plus free boxes in first months Qualley and other District officers started working on outreach with building managers though it was hard to get a foothold at first because management kept changing Eventually the precinct was able to have regular meetings about how the department could help whether through targeted enforcement or providing mental soundness or narcotics tools I understand that there is frustration out there with residents so I invariably ask them to actively get involved and ask them to come to the commanders advisory board we have monthly Qualley explained It s good to have that 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