Denver Neighborhoods With More Crime Than the Union Station Area

Three neighborhoods had more violent crimes than Union Station.

March 25, 2022

Image: The Five Points neighborhood near downtown has logged the most violent crimes in 2022.

The Five Points neighborhood near downtown has logged the most violent crimes in 2022. Evan Semon

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Following outcries about crime around Union Station voiced by the union representing RTD workers and echoed by Mayor Michael Hancock late last year, the Denver Police Department began ratcheting up enforcement actions at the iconic site — and a February 23 sweep marked by 43 busts was just the beginning. A March 22 announcement of an alleged drug-possession suspect found packing a firearm there notes that the DPD has made more than 1,030 arrests in the Union Station area since November 1.

This week, RTD announced a series of safety measures intended to "thwart unwanted activities" at its bus terminal, where a March 19 shooting led to the arrest of 21-year-old Dominico Archuleta, and Hancock has renewed his call for the city to focus more attention on the Union Station neighborhood.

But statistics shared on the DPD's Denver Crime Map show that the area around Union Station is hardly the only Mile High City neighborhood where a large number of crimes have occurred. Nine other Denver neighborhoods have been the setting for at least twenty violent crimes since the start of 2022, with three of them notching more offenses in that category than Union Station.

And while the Union Station neighborhood has recorded by far the most overall crimes of any Denver neighborhood so far this year — owing at least in part to the DPD's focus on the area — the other nine have arrest totals that range from the low hundreds to nearly 1,000. In these nine areas, the number of offenses either rivals or even surpasses the Union Station totals in the three major categories established by the DPD: violent crime (murder, robbery or aggravated assault), property crime (arson, larceny, burglary, auto theft or theft from a motor vehicle), and other crimes (drug and alcohol violations, public disorder, white-collar crime and other crimes against persons).

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Examples? From January 1 to March 22, Union Station registered 41 violent crimes, while Montbello, Gateway/Green Valley Ranch and Five Points checked in with 44, 48 and 75, respectively. All three also exceeded Union Station's number of property crimes, as did CBD and Central Park, formerly Stapleton. Union Station only dominated when it came to other crimes — most of them nonviolent offenses pertaining to drug or alcohol use.

Here are the ten Denver neighborhoods with at least twenty violent crimes from January 1 to March 22, 2022, ranked from least to most. Also included are offense counts for property crime and other crimes.

10. West Colfax
Violent crimes: 20
Property crimes: 216
Other crimes: 157

9. Villa Park
Violent crimes: 21
Property crimes: 103
Other crimes: 82

8. Central Business District (CBD)
Violent crimes: 24
Property crimes: 282
Other crimes: 234

7. Hampden
Violent crimes: 27
Property crimes: 234
Other crimes: 128

6. Central Park (formerly Stapleton)
Violent crimes: 28
Property crimes: 608
Other crimes: 334

5. Westwood
Violent crimes: 31
Property crimes: 93
Other crimes: 190

4. Union Station
Violent crimes: 41
Property crimes: 237
Other crimes: 716

3. Montbello
Violent crimes: 44
Property crimes: 262
Other crimes: 234

2. Gateway/Green Valley Ranch
Violent crimes: 48
Property crimes: 283
Other crimes: 134

1. Five Points
Violent crimes: 75
Property crimes: 484
Other crimes: 394

Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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