{"id":3844,"date":"2023-04-23T10:14:32","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T17:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=3844"},"modified":"2023-04-23T10:14:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-23T17:14:32","slug":"why-colorado-is-topping-the-charts-in-violent-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2023\/04\/23\/why-colorado-is-topping-the-charts-in-violent-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Colorado is Topping the Charts in Violent Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are times I think it might have been better to relocate further from the Colorado border as their cancerous policies are undoubtedly spilling over the border. Though, it’s a beautiful state with a lot of natural resources and treasures we’ve enjoyed exploring. But when we go through the urban areas, it sure does remind me of California and for good reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Armagost agreed with Evans, adding that most of the anti-law enforcement legislation originates in California, and is then adopted by the Colorado General Assembly.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/why-colorado-is-topping-the-charts-in-violent-crime_5204423.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge&src_src=partner&src_cmp=ZeroHedge<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

<\/a>By Katie Spence<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Gabe Evans isn\u2019t a career politician. Before being elected to his first term as a Colorado State representative on Nov. 8, 2022, Evans served 12 years in the U.S. Army and Colorado Army National Guard, and 10 years as an Arvada, Colorado, police officer, sergeant, and lieutenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, Evans has extensive experience in law enforcement and combating crime. When he was asked about a March report<\/a> from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that found that among the 22 most populous states, Colorado was number one for violent crime and what\u2019s led to the increase, Evans was quick to answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2012, 2013, 2014, what we really started to see was this push to either reduce penalties or to completely decriminalize a whole bunch of different\u2014and I\u2019ll call them addictive substances because, to me, that\u2019s the important part of this\u2014but I\u2019m talking drugs,\u201d Evans told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the addiction power of drugs that I think kind of laid part of the foundation for where we\u2019re at. There\u2019s a lot of [legislation] we\u2019ve [passed] to reduce penalties on meth, on cocaine, on heroin, on fentanyl. We just legalized, via a popular referendum, psilocybin this last election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd the unfortunate side effect of all that is there is still a massive international presence dedicated to the drug trade. You know, you\u2019ve got huge cartels in Mexico that the Mexican government has trouble controlling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans said the push to reduce drug penalties encouraged cartels to \u201cset up shop\u201d in Colorado, as did the push to make it harder to enforce existing laws. \u201cWhat happens is, inadvertently or not, [these policies] attract a huge criminal presence from the people who make a living distributing and trafficking this stuff,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That, Evans added, led to an increase in other crimes, like vehicle theft and robberies, to fuel drug habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, lax drug laws aren\u2019t entirely responsible for Colorado\u2019s escalating crime. The other factor, Evans explained, is what\u2019s happening to officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t usually see a lot of attrition in law enforcement in the 5-to-15-year range,\u201d Evan said. \u201cWhen Senate Bill 20-217<\/a> kicked in, most of the attrition occurred in that 5-to-15-year range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other provisions, SB 217 requires all local law enforcement to wear body-worn cameras\u2014except in undercover, and certain situations\u2014updating reporting requirements, and updated penalties for unlawful use of force. It also limits how officers can respond to a protest or demonstration, and allows for civil action suits against officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, look at me. I was 10 years into my career. I was the youngest lieutenant in recent history at Arvada. I was making a solid six figures, and I walked away from that career, in which I was on a trajectory to be a chief or a sheriff in a few more years if I wanted to be competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I walked away from it. And there are, from my agency alone\u2014my agency is less than 200 cops\u2014from my agency alone, I can tell you dozens of similar stories of solid cops, solid detectives, solid sergeants with 5-to-15 years of experience that said, \u2018I\u2019m out. I cannot work in this toxic environment.\u2019 That goes back to Senate Bill 217.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Escalating Crime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The DOJ March report analyzed data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) from 2017\u20132019 and found 45 \u201cviolent victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older\u201d in Colorado. Violent victimization includes sexual assault or rape, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NCVS is considered the nation\u2019s primary source for data on criminal victimization because it includes crimes reported and not reported to the police. The March report is the first time the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has released the NCVS\u2019s victimization data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, while the report covers 2017\u20132019, the most recent data shows Colorado crimes have escalated. The Common Sense Institute reports<\/a> that in 2022, crimes increased in seven major categories\u2014arson, prostitution\/pandering, robbery, motor vehicle theft, buying stolen property, vandalism, and drug possession\/sales. In fact, for drug trafficking, the Colorado State Patrol reports that Colorado is in the middle of a 10-year drug trafficking record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first five months of 2022, Colorado law enforcement seized more fentanyl than it did for all of 2021\u2014enough to kill 93 million people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report states, \u201cConcurrent with Colorado\u2019s rising crime rates, since the start of the pandemic, incarceration in Department of Corrections facilities dropped by 15.5 percent, the number of offenders on parole by 14.1 percent, and the number of offenders on probation by 14.4 percent. A rise in crime should catalyze a corresponding rise in arrests, convictions, and incarceration for the sake of public safety and justice for victims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason escalating crime hasn\u2019t resulted in a corresponding rise in law enforcement is because of changing laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legislation\u2019s Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vast majority of our general assembly is pushing bills that lower penalties for crimes and otherwise find ways of turning the criminals into victims in Colorado,\u201d Colorado State Republican Rep. Ryan Armagost told The Epoch Times. Like Evans, Armagost served in the military and was in law enforcement for 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe bills that [Republicans] push forward that would raise penalties for auto thefts and things like that are being killed before they even get to the floor,\u201d Armagost said. \u201cAnd then bills that are otherwise helping to find alternative means for those who offend\u2014other than going through the correctional system\u2014is kind of the means that the Democrats have been pushing. So, we\u2019ve been seeing a lot more of the alternative sentencing and alternative means for detention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armagost noted that people are showing up to support the Democrat\u2019s bills lowering penalties, while also showing up to protest the Republican\u2019s bills looking to stiffen penalties. But he pointed out that there\u2019s a distinct criminal thread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe rallying and support for [the Democrats\u2019 bills] have been [from] the people who have offended and the people who are going to have a criminal record. They are coming out and speaking in support of these bills that [Democrats are] pushing. It is the same group that comes out to oppose the bills that the Republican side is pushing to stiffen penalties and stiffen sensors and corrections, correctional facilities, and stuff like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans, in agreement with Armagost, added, \u201cYou know, when certain narcotics are either legalized or penalties reduced, we see people come in\u2014and when I say people, I\u2019m talking cartels, organized crime, drug traffickers, things like that\u2014they come in with the billions of dollars at their disposal and set up shop. That\u2019s one of the things that drives our No. 1-in-the-nation auto theft rate. That\u2019s one of the things that helps drive our violent crime rate up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember a particular case that we had shortly after a particular drug was legalized, where there was a daytime burglary, and this mid-70s gentleman homeowner was assaulted and thrown down the stairs in his own home by somebody who had just gotten off of probation for drugs and assault in Texas that came to Colorado. He told me after I Mirandized him, he told me to my face, \u2018The reason I came to Colorado is because I like your drug laws.’\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Colorado State Rep. Dave Williams, who now serves as the Colorado GOP chair, concurred. \u201cColorado has certainly been at the forefront of legalizing drugs, and this all started back when Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012,\u201d Williams told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were one of the few states that actually legalized recreational marijuana. And that brought in a huge influx of folks wanting to partake in and get involved in marijuana. And that sort of kick-started it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou had transients or homeless individuals, people with mental health conditions, that just came and started out panhandling. But then they started to engage in other types of crime, like burglary, armed robbery, or things of that nature to obtain resources to get marijuana. It\u2019s only gotten worse from there as time has gone on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams added, \u201cDemocrats are absolutely incentivizing crime. For whatever reason, they care more about criminals that mean us harm or harm to themselves. And they\u2019re more interested in letting criminals run loose on the streets than enforcing the law and making sure that hardworking taxpayers can conduct their affairs safely in a safe environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, lax drug laws and laws that incentive crime are only part of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demonizing Police<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLaw enforcement in Colorado is facing a historic recruiting, retention, and morale crisis,\u201d Evans said. \u201cNobody wants to be a cop. The cops that were cops are fleeing the profession in droves. And that\u2019s the second prong of this kind of two-pronged issue that\u2019s driving crime up in Colorado.\u201d Specifically, according to Evans, one of the policies that \u201cbroke the back\u201d of law enforcement was the passage of SB 217.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans explained that after the police custody death of George Floyd on May 31, 2020, Denver experienced massive riots\u2014the third most violent in the nation\u2014and lawmakers, hoping to quell the fury, passed SB 217, the \u201cEnhanced Law Enforcement Integrity<\/a>\u201d Act. It was signed into law on June 19, 2020, having passed through the general assembly and into law in 16 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Evans, two parts of SB 217 are particularly demoralizing to law enforcement. The first was the requirement that every encounter be extensively documented, adding significant paperwork to an already demanding job, and the second was a body camera requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe insidious part of how Senate Bill 217 implemented body cams was that it basically put a guilty-until-proven-innocent mandate in there which said that if something is not captured on law enforcement body camera\u2014and whatever that was that was not captured is challenged in court\u2014the courts are allowed to assume misconduct on the part of the officer, and it\u2019s up to the cop to prove that they didn\u2019t behave in an inappropriate manner,\u201d Evans explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans said that when he was an officer, he loved his body cam, but added that there are numerous reasons why it might not capture footage. \u201cIf somebody makes an allegation against you, and the body cam didn\u2019t capture it\u2014the battery died, you forgot to turn it on, you know, whatever\u2014there are 101 reasons why the good well-meaning cop who\u2019s doing the right thing, the body cam might not be ready. \u2026 [Then] the courts are allowed to impugn and basically assume misconduct on behalf of the officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s on you to prove that misconduct did not occur. So, every time cops are putting on their body camera, it\u2019s a visible reminder to them that, look, the state of Colorado thinks that you\u2019re actually the bad guy and you\u2019re the one that\u2019s out here terrorizing and causing problems in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armagost agreed with Evans, adding that most of the anti-law enforcement legislation originates in California, and is then adopted by the Colorado General Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWatching what\u2019s going on nationally, pretty much you\u2019ll notice that whatever is passing legislation in California, becomes a proposed bill the next year in Colorado,\u201d said Armagost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe anti-law enforcement sentiment is definitely one of those. They keep finding bills that are working in California and trying them here to further tie the hands of law enforcement and their ability to do their job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armagost added that in Denver, school resource officers were removed from almost all the schools, which he said \u201cled to an uptick in incidences within our schools. We just had a shooting a couple of weeks ago in a Denver school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armagost said that currently, Republicans have one of the smallest Caucuses they\u2019ve ever had in the General Assembly, and Democrats have used that to attack police officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Democrats] made the law enforcement career the most toxic career to be in by basically giving everyone the right to be as belligerent and disrespectful to law enforcement as possible, and get away with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have law enforcement officers leaving early, not even finishing to retirement, at rates that we\u2019ve never seen before. So, I mean, the retention in law enforcement agencies is very, very slim. It\u2019s very disturbing. \u2026 Nobody wants to be a cop. Nobody really wants to be subjected to that kind of abuse on a daily basis anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reversing Rising Crime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To reverse flagging retention and recruitment rates in law enforcement, and also reverse escalating violent crime in Colorado, Armagost said, \u201cWe need to evaluate, I think as a whole, and hopefully convince our democratic counterparts that we need to focus more on taking care of our protectors, not on taking care of criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans concurred, \u201c\u2019I\u2019m always up for criminal justice reform, but not if it\u2019s making cops out to be the bad guys. We have to support law enforcement. And you know, I was a lieutenant. I\u2019m very familiar with vicarious liability, all the bad stuff that happens when we got cops doing bad things, so I\u2019m all for more training. I\u2019m all for more education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we have to make it an environment in which people actually want to join this career and dedicate a significant chunk of their life to it. Because that\u2019s the only option that we got. We have to be able to fix that recruiting and retention problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specifically, to reduce rising violent crime, Evans added, \u201cWe need to have a nice balance of carrot and stick. If you harm your fellow human beings, you\u2019re gonna be caught, you\u2019re gonna be held accountable for it. That\u2019s the stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we also have to have the carrot, of look, we need to increase our mental health, behavioral health, substance abuse, we need to increase the focus on those programs to help those individuals that do want to be productive citizens actually have a productive life. \u2026 If you want a hand-up, we extend you an open hand of assistance. But if you continue to want to victimize your community, you will be met with a closed fist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Epoch Times\u2019 requests for comment from Democratic lawmakers in Colorado were not returned by the time of publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are times I think it might have been better to relocate further from the Colorado border as their cancerous policies are undoubtedly spilling over the border. Though, it’s a beautiful state with a lot of natural resources and treasures we’ve enjoyed exploring. But when we go through the urban areas, it sure does remind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3845,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3844\/revisions\/3845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}