Property Crime Rates 25,000
50
40
20,000
35 30
15,000
25 20
10,000
15 10
5,000
Number of crimes per 1000 people
Total number of property crimes
45
5 0
0 2008
2009
Property crime
2010
2011
Regional crime rate
2012 Na onal crime rate
Violent Crime Rates 3,000
10
Total number of violent crimes
8 7
2,000
6 1,500
5 4
1,000
3 2
500
Number of crimes per 1000 people
9 2,500
SAFETY
1 0
0 2008 2009 Violent crime
2010 2011 2012 Regional crime rate Na onal rate
Source for both charts: Colorado Springs Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
98
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The first chart shows number of property crimes (bars), as well as crime rates (lines) per 1,000 persons in our region as compared to national rates. Property crimes are burglary, larceny, auto theft and robbery. The second chart shows number of violent crimes (bars), as well as crime rates (lines) per 1,000 persons in our region as compared to national rates. Violent crime includes murder, assault and sexual assault. Why is this important? Maintaining low crime rates is crucial to preserving safe and vibrant communities. Tracking the local crime rate allows us to evaluate crime reduction strategies currently at work in our community. Providing a national comparison creates a context for that evaluation. From those comparisons we can set priorities aimed at understanding and addressing specific crime problems. Engaging community partners is important in creating sustainable reductions in crime. How are we doing? Property crimes are increasing (13 percent since 2008.) Despite the fact that our region is consistently below national rates, we can see the property crime rate gap narrowing. The rate of increase from 2011 to 2012 is the largest seen during the past five years (12 percent.) In our region, violent crime has fluctuated during the past five years from a low of 2,528 in 2009 to a high of 2,766 in 2012. Violent crime has increased four percent since 2008. Despite this upward trend, our area is still well below the national average of 7.7 violent crimes per 1,000. For more information, contact Colorado Springs Police Department, Cripple Creek Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Fountain Police Department, Manitou Springs Police Department, Teller County Sheriff’s Office, Woodland Park Police Department