CBI releases 2020 statewide crime statistics

Total crimes in Colorado increases 3.9% from 2019

LAKEWOOD — The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has posted the 2020 crime data for hundreds of statewide law enforcement agencies through the Colorado Crime Stats website. 

Some of the highlights from this year’s Colorado Crime Stats report include: 

353,528 total crimes reported in Colorado in 2020, reflecting a 3.9% increase from last year. Much of that increase is due to a surge in property crimes during the year.  

There were a total of 31,275 crimes against society reports in 2020, showing a 26.1% decrease over 2019. 

While overall crimes against personshas remained relatively flat, violent crime incidents increased by 6.5% compared to 2019 reports. 

There were a total of 258,132 crimes against propertyreports in 2020, showing a 10.4% increase over 2019. 

Colorado reported 30,942 incidents of motor vehicle theft in 2020, reflecting a 38.6% increase compared to 2019 numbers. On direction from Gov. Jared Polis, the Department of Public Safety will soon announce a Statewide Task Force to work with the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority to better understand the underlying causes of increases in motor vehicle theft and to develop a statewide strategy to reduce motor vehicle thefts.  

The data set for 2020 may contain incomplete information due to the fact not all law enforcement agencies may have submitted crime statistics for this reporting period, according to CBI. Colorado Crime Stats is a fluid system with updates being made by law enforcement agencies on a daily basis. Additionally, the data set and comparisons from year to year may not take into account data anomalies from agencies that upgrade or switch record management systems from one year to the next.

The CBI does not offer analysis as to the reasons for changes in the crime rates or any other interpretation of the data; rather, those questions should be directed to individual law enforcement agencies.

The 2020 statewide crime data release marks an improvement in the timeliness for which the CBI will provide statistics to the public in the future. Moving forward, Colorado Crime Stats will be available with a one-month lag before becoming accessible to the public. For example, crime stats for April 2021 will be accessible to the public at the beginning of June 2021.

“This shift in the availability of the statistics not only ensures Colorado is more aligned with the FBI’s quarterly reporting practices, but more importantly it provides increased transparency involving statewide crime data, and eliminates the lag that occurred in the past,” said CBI Director John Camper.