AURORA | In the first half of 2026, the city’s crime rate, including property and violent crimes, dropped 10.5%, continuing a two-year decline, police reported today.
From January to June, violent crime has decreased 9% and property crime is down 11%, representing 665 fewer victims than the same timeframe last year, according to the Aurora Police Department. Almost all categories of crime, including assault, burglary, homicides, car theft, robbery and sexual assault, have seen declines in 2026.
In a Tuesday press conference, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain credited a number of factors for the drop, including hot-spot policing, prevention programs, data-driven resource allocation and the use of technology like license plate readers and drones.
“We are specifically laser focused on addressing the individuals, places and events that are causing concern,” Chamberlain said. “We identify the patterns. We use crime analysis to ensure that we understand what the repeat locations are, who repeat offenders are, what the incident is and where it’s occurring and then we do hot spot policing.”
Chamberlain added “the one thing we don’t do is over-police.”
The chief emphasized the importance of technology in helping officers address crime. He called the technology, which includes license plate readers, drones and real-time cameras, “a force multiplier.”
Homicide is down 59% compared to this time last year, while motor vehicle theft is down 38%, burglary and sex assault are both down 24%, aggravated assaults are down 7.5% and robbery is down 2.5%.
The drop mirrors a similar trend nationally. A 2026 report from the Council on Criminal Justice looked at 30 cities and found an 18% drop in homicides in the first half of 2026 compared to the first half of 2025. The report also found declines in robberies, assaults, burglaries and car thefts, though nationally there have been increases in domestic violence and sexual assault.
Chamberlain said one challenge area that remains is larceny, which has a smaller decline of 0.15%. He said the department is working with local businesses to address the retail theft.
In addition to the decline in homicide, Chamberlain highlighted the department’s clearance rate for homicides is 88%, which is above the national average. The clearance rate measures how many cases are linked to an arrest.
Crime is declining even as calls for service increase, the department said. Aurora police officers responded to 142,089 calls for service so far this year, which is 15,636 more calls compared to the first six months of 2025, an increase of about 12%.
Chamberlain said that the department has “drastically reduced” its response times, but he didn’t give details.
Chamberlain said that while he’s not “declaring victory,” he’s proud of the work his department has done to reduce the number of crime victims.
“I hope those percentages and numbers and statistics reflect the human element because that is what the individuals that are behind me are for, what the officers out the street are for, what the crime analysts are for — to focus on reducing victimization,” he said. “One thing we will never apologize for: we are proactively and aggressively addressing individuals who victimize others.”
Chamberlain said he hopes being transparent about crime trends also helps change the community perception.
“What I can tell you is the community is far safer than it was two years ago,” he said.
This year’s declines are a continuation of a two-year trend. Since 2024, violent crime has declined 14%, property crime has dropped 27% and overall crime has dropped 25%, which the department says equates to 7,816 fewer victims.
The city is also at a five-year low for non-fatal shootings.
Chamberlain said the department has recorded the decreases even as it’s understaffed. He said that targeted retention and recruitment strategies have helped improve staffing since 2024, but positions remain vacant.
“We’re in a better position than we were, but there is still a lot of room for growth,” he said.