Denver logged 43 murders last year, up 26.5 percent from 34 in 2010, but still lower than the average of 54 recorded since 2002, according to the Denver police data-analysis unit.
“The guys in homicide say homicide numbers cycle. They come up and go back down,” said police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
Three of the homicides were in Northeast Park Hill, compared with two in 2010. Five Points, where there were no murders in 2010, had three last year. Capitol Hill had one murder in each of those years.
The numbers in other crimes, such as burglary, also fluctuate. Last year, there were 4,928 burglaries, up from 4,643 in 2010.
“When you get pattern crimes like burglary and robbery, they tend to cycle as well. Pattern offenders tend to prey on an area until we get that guy off the street,” Jackson said.
Aggravated assaults also rose, from 2,233 in 2010 to 2,327 last year. Forcible sex offenses fell from 816 to 773.
The number of total crimes rose by 2.9 percent, from 37,411 to 38,482.
