August 11, 2025 12:39 PM UTC

More New Crime Data Lands Another Blow to Republican Narratives

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• by: Colorado Pols

Republicans such as Congressman Gabe Evans (R-Ft. Lupton) — who loves to remind anyone who will listen that he was once a police officer on the hardscrabble streets of Arvada — often go out of their way to scare constituents about the dangers of living in Colorado as a way to promote a shaky narrative that Democrats are soft on crime. Last month we took note (again) of plummeting rates of murder and other violent crime in Colorado.

The data keeps on assaulting the GOP narrative of a state in which you are lucky to survive on any given day. As Axios Denver reports:

Colorado’s homicide rate dropped sharply in 2024, mirroring a nationwide decline in violent crime.

By the numbers: State data shows Colorado’s homicide rate fell to 5.1 per 100,000 residents in 2024 — down 18% from the year before and the lowest level since 2019. [Pols emphasis]

Homicides in Colorado have now declined two years in a row after peaking in 2022.

The big picture: Nationally, violent crime hit a 20-year low last year, per new FBI data released this month. And the downward trend appears to be accelerating:

Early 2025 data from the country’s largest cities suggests violent crime could soon drop to record modern lows. As we reported, Denver’s homicide rate was down to 2.7 per 100,000 residents in the first half of 2025 — the city’s lowest level in more than a decade and the steepest drop among dozens of U.S. cities examined. [Pols emphasis]

Here’s more from Jasmine Arenas of CBS4 News on the big drops in Denver alone:

Just a few years ago, Colorado led the nation in auto thefts. But new FBI data shows significant progress, with car thefts dropping by more than 30% in the past year. Violent crime is also on the decline.

When broken down by city, Denver aligns with the state’s trend. Violent crime dropped 9%, while the city’s murder rate fell by 49%, the largest decline among major U.S. cities. Property crime overall decreased by 9%. While theft is up slightly, car thefts saw a 33% drop year-over-year.

Denver police attribute the improvements to rapid police response and a high clearance rate for homicide cases. They say solving cases helps hold offenders accountable, preventing vigilante justice. Youth organizations in the city also see the positive effects of these changes on young people.

This is the problem when one party’s political message is always about what they think is going wrong without any actual attempt to solve that issue: When the data shifts, Republicans have 1) Nothing else to say, and 2) No way to take credit for the good news.

If everything, good or bad, gets laid at the feet of Democrats, then there is no way for Republicans to challenge the new narrative that we are all safer now because of…Democrats.

Not that folks like Rep. Evans won’t try:

So, wait: Crime is down because the Trump administration is scrambling to arrest and deport immigrants — most of whom have no criminal records whatsoever? That’s some real “2+2=5” analysis. It’s also important to note that the numbers showing Colorado’s plummeting homicide rate come from 2024…before Evans and President Trump had been elected to their current positions.

Maybe stop talking for awhile, Gabe.