FBI data shows rapid increase in violent crime in Colorado

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released some of their crime data for the year of 2021 and with 235 of 247 law enforcement agencies in Colorado accounted for, data appears to show that a rapid rise in violent crime continued last year.

In past decades, violent crime in Colorado had long been taking place at lower rates than what is found on a national scale. However, in 2018, that wasn't the case, and it hasn't been the case since – pending a release of finalized 2021 data.

In 2020, the violent crime rate in Colorado was 423.2 offenses per 100,000 residents. The last time the local violent crime rate was higher than that was in 1995, when Colorado's violent crime rate was 440.2 offenses per 100,000. It should be noted that in 1995, violent crime rate on a national scale was much higher than in Colorado – 684.5 offenses per 100,000 residents. In 2020, when Colorado crime rates were as high as they'd been in 25 years, the national rate was significant lower than it was decades ago, below Colorado and at 398.5 offenses per 100,000 residents.

The comparison of crime rates in Colorado and across the United States can be seen on the chart below, with the pink line representing nationwide statistics and the blue line representing Colorado.

Note: This map depicts years 1985 to 2020, with 2021 not included due to lack of data from some agencies. Keep reading for info on Colorado's 2021 data.

In terms of violent crime in 2021, Colorado-level data is much more complete than data representing nationwide crime statistics. A transition in how data is reported is underway, with 62 percent of agencies nationwide currently represented in what's been released compared to 95 percent of agencies in Colorado.

With 235 of 247 Colorado agencies reporting, 27,708 violent crime offenses have been tallied as taking place in 2021 – more than the 24,470 violent crime offenses in 2020. With the FBI reporting that Colorado's population is 5,812,069, that would make the 2021 crime rate 476.7 violent crime offenses per 100,000 residents. While that's not including all of the data, it's already much higher than the 2020 rate of 423.1 violent crime offenses per 100,000 residents.

STAY INFORMED: Sign-up for the daily OutThere Colorado newsletter here

The agency has also released a demographic breakdown of who is being victimized by violent crime and who is committing violent crime offenses.

A full breakdown of those numbers as they relate to age and race can be seen below:

In terms of gender, FBI data shows that men committed roughly 82 percent of violent crimes in Colorado in 2021, while women commited roughly 14 percent. In four percent of cases, the agency labeled gender of the offender as 'unknown.' Meanwhile, the victim of a violent crime was male 52 percent of the time and female 48 percent of the time, with less than one percent of victims labeled as 'gender unknown.'

The data also covered where violent crimes took place and how victims were related to offenders. This revealed that 42 percent of violent crimes took place at the victim's residence, that 20 percent took place in various road or street situations, and that 8 percent took place in a parking lot or garage.

What weapons were used and other connected crimes linked to the violent crime were also noted.

While the crime data for 2021 remains incomplete, with 95 percent of law enforcement agencies reporting in Colorado, this information provides insight into what type of violent crime took place in Colorado last year.

Dig into the data for yourself on the FBI website.

STAY INFORMED: Sign-up for the daily OutThere Colorado newsletter here