Crime in Denver dropped nearly 10 percent in 2006 from the year before, and many of the city’s neighborhoods saw a significant decrease in crime reports, city officials said Tuesday.
Crimes in eight major categories tracked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation fell an average of 14 percent across the city, according to Denver police data.
“Denver is a safer place due to the dedication and hard work of Denver’s police officers and our community partners,” Mayor John Hickenlooper said. “Certainly, there is still work to be done, but we are very encouraged by these results. We look forward to working with the community to build upon this progress.”
Hickenlooper, who joined Police Chief Gerry Whitman at a news conference in his office, also credited the work of the Hanover Justice Group that he hired in 2005 to analyze the police department’s crime strategy and come up with data-driven ways to combat problems.
In addition, he said, the city has added $30 million annually to the police budget in the past three years.
Officers also are spending more time talking to citizens, along with answering calls for service, Hickenlooper said.
According to the new report, arrests in Denver are rising while reported crimes are dropping.
The number of arrests made in Denver, which totaled 103,243 in 1998, was at a 10-year low in 2004 with 65,392 arrests, but rose to 73,668 last year.
At the same time, the number of reported offenses in Denver reached a 10-year high of 50,940 in 2004 but dropped to 46,020 last year, the lowest since 2000.
The report on falling crime statistics comes amid rising community concerns about graffiti, gangs and the high-profile New Year’s Day shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams.
In Athmar Park, resident and business owner Gregg Whelen said the crime drop doesn’t mean much to him because he doesn’t see problems of graffiti and violence getting resolved.
As a board member of his neighborhood association, Whelen is preparing a report for the mayor about the crime problem.
Every Sunday night in the Alameda Square shopping center, people in hot rods gather and tag the neighborhood, he said.
“I’ve told the cops about that so many times, I am blue in the face, and every Sunday, the place still gets tagged up,” Whelen said. “I never see any police around. People down here are getting downright depressed.”
Property crimes led the citywide reductions, down 15 percent overall, with double-digit drops in burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson.
Crimes against people – including homicide, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault – were down 3 percent in 2006, led by an 11 percent drop in robbery and a 10 percent drop in homicide, the report showed.
City officials said while the numbers are dropping, there may still be a perception that crime is up, especially with the attention gangs have received since Williams was killed.
Whitman wouldn’t confirm reports that Williams’ killing involved gangs and offered no updates about the case except that detectives are “making progress.”
About 16 percent of Denver’s homicides are gang-related, he said. There are 13,000 identified gang members statewide, with 8,800 in Denver and 1,300 in Aurora, Whitman said.
Homicides saw double-digit declines for the second consecutive year in 2006, having climbed to 91 in 2004, according to the report. Denver’s 55 homicides in 2006 ranked below the 10-year average of 60 for the first time since 2002.
Among individual neighborhoods in Denver, 82 percent had reductions in total crimes. The biggest drops in total crimes occurred in Bear Valley, Kennedy, Washington Park, Cory-Merrill and Cole.
Neighborhoods that had the highest crime rates in 2005 saw significant reductions in 2006. Cherry Creek ranked fifth in 2005 and dropped to 12th place in 2006, with a 27 percent crime- rate reduction. North Capitol Hill ranked third in 2005 and fifth in 2006 because of a 25 percent drop in the crime rate.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
