With a 5-percent dip in crime last year, Aurora was, for the second consecutive year, the safest city in Colorado with a population of more than 250,000.
For a city that has long struggled with a rough — and often unwarranted — reputation when it comes to crime, the success is something city officials want to share. Loudly.
“Our ranking as the safest large city in Colorado, and as one of the safest major cities in the country would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of every member of the Aurora Police Department,” Police Chief Nick Metz said last week in a statement announcing the ranking. Nationally, Aurora ranked as the 16th safest city based on crime data collected by the FBI, according to APD.
Metz said in his almost-eight months in Aurora, he has heard from people in other parts of the state who think of Aurora as someplace with high crime, despite the fact that it remains one of the safer communities in the state. Pushing back against that misconception is important, he said, as is letting people know that Aurora is a major population center today.
“A lot of people think of Aurora still as a small sleepy suburb. But we are a major city,” he said.
Aurora City Councilman Bob LeGare, who chairs council’s Public Safety Committee, said he is glad to see the city touting how safe Aurora is, especially after years of the city’s reputation being maligned despite lower crime than Denver.
“I think it’s about time that we get recognized for factual information instead of an old, old reputation and fallacy about Aurora being high crime,” he said.
Overall, major crime — which includes murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft — fell almost 6 percent from 2013 to 2014.
But so far in 2015, Aurora, like many major cities across the country, is seeing an almost across-the-board increase in crime.
“Our ranking as the safest large city in Colorado, and as one of the safest major cities in the country would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of every member of the Aurora Police Department,” Police Chief Nick Metz said last week in a statement announcing the ranking. Nationally, Aurora ranked as the 16th safest city based on crime data collected by the FBI, according to APD.
Reported incidents of homicide, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, larceny and motor vehicle theft are all up through three quarters of 2015. Only burglary saw a dip from January to September when compared to the same stretch in 2014, falling from 1,253 to 1,068.
Across the board, crime is up 5 percent, and violent crime — which includes murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery — is up 12 percent through the end of September.
Metz said the trend is one that police chiefs around the country are dealing with, and one that doesn’t lend itself to easy answers.
“It’s not just in Aurora, everyone around the country is experiencing it to some degree or another,” he said.
The department is staying focused on closely following crime trends, Metz said, in hopes that with more and better data, they can continue to target and combat specific trends.
As for the spike in sex assaults, Metz said he attributes the spike in part to victims being more willing to go to police after an assault.
“Part of the reason for that increase in number is people are feeling more and more confident in reporting those kinds of crimes,” he said.
While Aurora’s uptick in crime so far in 2015 appears to mirror a national trend, Aurora’s increase, at least in terms of violent crimes, hasn’t been as dramatic as spikes other cities have seen.
In Denver, overall crime so far in 2015 is up 4 percent, and violent crime is up 14 percent.
Aurora City Councilman Bob LeGare, who chairs council’s Public Safety Committee, said he is glad to see the city touting how safe Aurora is, especially after years of the city’s reputation being maligned despite lower crime than Denver.
In Milwaukee, for example, there were more than 100 murders by the end of August, more than all of 2014 when the city of more than 600,000 saw just 84, according to The New York Times. The paper also reported a spike in New Orleans, where 120 people had been killed by late August, compared with 98 during the same period in 2014.
And the increases are happening in other Colorado cities, too. In Denver, homicides are up 75 percent in 2015 compared to the same stretch last year, with 28 murders in 2015 compared to 16 last year, according to Denver police.
Murders in Aurora are up 33 percent, with 12 through the end of September 2015 compared to nine by late September 2014. Still, that’s lower than the city’s pace in 2013, when there were 23 murders by the end of the year.
LeGare is the ultimate spin doctor who is up for reelection and must make Aurora seem safer than it is to maintain his seat for another round of failures.
Don’t become mesmerized by the numbers folks. How difficult is it to understand reclassification of crimes to keep the numbers low and the sheep oblivious?
The explanation Chief Metz gives for example on sexual assaults increasing falls flat on its rear end. Aurora is a sanctuary city for illegals whose backgrounds are largely unknown until they commit their specific types of crimes here and are caught.
Aurora citizens deserve the respect of it’s Chief and that Chief needs to avoid pandering to council and members like LeGare.
Get LeGare out of there!
I’m for Bob LeGare staying, mostly because the alternatives are less appealing. Choosing the better of mediocre choices. However, I think LeGare is intelligent and capable and comes through in a pinch. For some reason, the most qualified and capable residents of Aurora do not step forward to run for council.
Joe Hardhat, I usually do not agree with your assessments on several issues here at the Sentinel, however, you are correct. The alternative is not attractive; and there is also this notion that LeGare does not care about public safety. If you look at the facts, he is for utilizing the EXTRA cops to do what they were hired for; patrol, not admin desk jobs or manning the desk at city hall… Get the facts people!