Denver Neighborhoods With the Most Crimes Now

The problem is most acute in the heart of the city.

July 19, 2022

Image: The scene following an officer-involved shooting in Globeville last week.

The scene following an officer-involved shooting in Globeville last week. CBS4 Denver via YouTube

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The Denver Police Department reported three officer-involved shootings over a five-day period between July 13 and July 17, and two took place in the same neighborhood, Globeville. But DPD statistics from the past two weeks show that Globeville actually ranked thirteenth for Denver neighborhoods with the most violent crimes. And while sections of central Denver tend to rank high for crime in general, the number and type of offenses vary widely from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Those are among the takeaways from the latest data provided by the DPD's Denver Crime Map. The online tool divides offenses into three major categories: violent crime (murder, robbery and aggravated assault), property crime (arson, larceny, burglary, auto theft and theft from a motor vehicle), and other crimes (drug-and-alcohol crimes, public disorder, white collar crime, other crimes against persons and all other crimes). The map also combines totals for all three categories, which are broken down by offenses per square mile in order to allow you to compare neighborhoods that vary widely in size. Accompanying graphics juxtapose the nineteen neighborhoods with the most crimes in each bracket.

During the two-week period from July 2 to July 16, the section of Mile High City that registered the most violent crime was Union Station, which isn't an official Denver neighborhood but is tracked by the DPD, with 18.2 offenses per square mile. Civic Center and North Capitol Hill followed, with 16.4 and 11.3 offenses respectively, while Globeville clocked in with 4.4 offenses per square mile.

For property crimes, other crimes and all crimes, however, Globeville didn't land in the top nineteen. The three neighborhoods with the most property crimes from July 2 to July 14 were the Central Business District, or CBD (123 offenses per square mile), Capitol Hill (84.3) and North Capitol Hill (70.8). The trio of areas leading the other crimes division were Civic Center (78.9 offenses per square mile), Union Station (75.2) and the Central Business District (74.2). As for total crimes over these two weeks, the CBD led the way with 206.5 offenses per square mile, followed by Union Station (161.7) and North Capitol Hill (155.8).

The disparities between the first and nineteenth neighborhoods in each category was often wide. For example, contrast the CBD's 206.5 overall offenses with the 31.8 that occurred in Platt Park, which finished in the nineteenth position. As this gap indicates, crime is a problem throughout Denver, but it's most acute in the heart of the city.

Continue to see violent crime, property crime, other crime and overall crime data in Denver from July 2 to July 14 for nineteen neighborhoods in each category.

click to enlarge

denvergov.org

Violent crime:

1. Union Station
18.2 offenses per square mile

2. Civic Center
16.4 offenses per square mile

3. North Capitol Hill
11.3 offenses per square mile

4. Five Points
9.7 offenses per square mile

5. CBD (Central Business District)
9.3 offenses per square mile

6. Capitol Hill
8.9 offenses per square mile

7. City Park West
7.5 offenses per square mile

8. Lincoln Park
6.3 offenses per square mile

9. College View-South Platte
5.5 offenses per square mile

10. Westwood
5.3 offenses per square mile

11. West Colfax
5 offenses per square mile

12. Auraria
4.7 offenses per square mile

13. Globeville
4.4 offenses per square mile

14. Jefferson Park
4.1 offenses per square mile

15. Ruby Hill
4.1 offenses per square mile

16 (tie). Goldsmith
3.9 offenses per square mile

16 (tie). Barnum
3.9 offenses per square mile

18. Cheesman Park
3.8 offenses per square mile

19. Baker
3.4 offenses per square mile

click to enlarge

denvergov.org

Property crime:

1. CBD (Central Business District)
123 offenses per square mile

2. Capitol Hill
84.3 offenses per square mile

3. North Capitol Hill
70.8 offenses per square mile

4. Union Station
68.3 offenses per square mile

5. Five Points
54.6 offenses per square mile

6. City Park West
41.1 offenses per square mile

7. Speer
38.6 offenses per square mile

8. Cherry Creek
32.3 offenses per square mile

9. Jefferson Park
30.5 offenses per square mile

10. Cheesman Park
30.4 offenses per square mile

11. West Colfax
29.8 offenses per square mile

12. Platt Park
26.9 offenses per square mile

13. Civic Center
26.3 offenses per square mile

14. Highland
20.8 offenses per square mile

15. Hale
20.6 offenses per square mile

16. Congress Park
18.5 offenses per square mile

17. Goldsmith
18.1 offenses per square mile

18. Lincoln Park
17.2 offenses per square mile

19. East Colfax
15.9 offenses per square mile

click to enlarge

denvergov.org

Other crime:

1. Civic Center
78.9 offenses per square mile

2. Union Station
75.2 offenses per square mile

3. CBD (Central Business District)
74.2 offenses per square mile

4. North Capitol Hill
73.7 offenses per square mile

5. Capitol Hill
57.7 offenses per square mile

6. Five Points
41.5 offenses per square mile

7. East Colfax
35.5 offenses per square mile

8. West Colfax
32.8 offenses per square mile

9. Auraria
32.6 offenses per square mile

10. City Park West
31.8 offenses per square mile

11. Lincoln Park
19.6 offenses per square mile

12. Clayton
19.5 offenses per square mile

13. Cheesman Park
19 offenses per square mile

14. Barnum
16.9 offenses per square mile

15. Speer
16.4 offenses per square mile

16 (tie). Whittier
16 offenses per square mile

16 (tie). Westwood
16 offenses per square mile

17. Sunnyvale
14.7 offenses per square mile

19. College View-South Platte
14.4 offenses per square mile

click to enlarge

denvergov.org

All crimes:

1. CBD (Central Business District)
206.5 offenses per square mile

2. Union Station
161.7 offenses per square mile

3. North Capitol Hill
155.8 offenses per square mile

4. Capitol Hill
150.9 offenses per square mile

5. Civic Center
121.7 offenses per square mile

6. Five Points
105.8 offenses per square mile

7. City Park West
80.4 offenses per square mile

8. West Colfax
67.6 offenses per square mile

8. Speer
57.4 offenses per square mile

10. East Colfax
54.3 offenses per square mile

11. Cheesman Park
53.1 offenses per square mile

12. Auraria
45 offenses per square mile

13. Lincoln Park
43.1 offenses per square mile

14. Cherry Creek
41.8 offenses per square mile

15. Jefferson Park
38.6 offenses per square mile

16. Westwood
36.1 offenses per square mile

17. Clayton
32.4 offenses per square mile

18. Highland
32.1 offenses per square mile

19. Platt Park
31.8 offenses per square mile

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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