From 2019 to 2021, motor vehicle thefts reported to the Greeley Police Department have increased by 86%.
In fact, property crimes in general have increased by 18% in Greeley. The only exception is arson, which has decreased by 26%. Violent crimes in Greeley during that same time have also increased by 61%.
These numbers are not isolated to Greeley. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, these same crime categories have increased across the State of Colorado by similar percentages. Where does that rank us as a state in property crime rates?
In 2010, Colorado ranked 23rd with first being the lowest rates and 50th being the worst rates. With violent crime rates, Colorado moved from 26th in 2010 to 31st in 2020. Finally, in total crime rates, Colorado moved from 22nd in 2010 to 47th in 2020.
The next question you should have is "Why?" While that is the easy and appropriate question to ask, the answer is anything but.
When I had the honor of being appointed the Chief of Police of the Greeley Police Department earlier this year, I knew the challenges that we as an agency, a city and a state had ahead of us in regard to the rising crime rates. This was the question I have also asked myself as the crime rate in Colorado continues to soar higher.
To understand the increase in crime rates, it is important to recognize some of the contributing factors of that increase. This includes recidivism rates, mental health challenges and legislative changes.
Recidivism is the likelihood an offender will reoffend by committing another crime once released from custody. This, like most things in the criminal justice world, is tracked.
This, like most categories about crime, is also bad in Colorado. Arkansas, Alaska and Delaware are the three states in the United States that have worse recidivism rates than Colorado.
While some who commit crimes in our city and state are very aware of what they are doing, there are others that are cognitively not as aware of their actions. Mental Health America ranks states based on how prevalent mental illness is in the state's citizens and their access to mental health care.
In 2015, MHA ranked Colorado with a score of 32. In 2022 that number is at 51. States that are ranked 39-51 indicate that adults have higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care for that illness.
These types of calls historically have been sent to police officers to handle, as well, even when they are not criminal in nature. While many officers have advanced training to deal with persons in a mental health crisis, they are by no means mental health professionals.
Luckily, the Greeley Police Department has been partnered with North Range Behavioral Health and the Greeley Fire Department for years with our Co-Responder and Squad 1 program.
This program pairs a licensed mental health clinician with a police officer to assess whether the person should be referred for an immediate behavioral health assessment in lieu of jail. Squad 1 also has a clinician in addition to a firefighter to assist with medical and mental health-related calls.
While this is a fantastic partnership I am proud to have with North Range Behavioral Health and the Greeley Department, these programs are not intended to, nor do they, address violent crime rates.
Since 2014, there have been multiple legislative changes that have continuously relaxed punishments and charging levels of many crimes.
House bill 14-1266, passed in 2014, reduced the penalty rate and charging levels for some property crimes and auto thefts. Senate Bill 21-124 lowered certain felony murders to a Class 2 Felony, down from a Class 1 Felony. Senate Bill 21-271 lowered the crime of trespass to a vehicle from a Class 5 Felony to a Class 1 Misdemeanor along with numerous other crimes that were reclassified to lower levels.
There have also been reforms to bonds, increasing the amount of "personal recognizance" bonds in lieu of cash bonds — meaning an arrestee can sign themself out of jail without paying anything simply by promising to appear back in court to answer for their charges. These bonds are often also given to repeat offenders bonding out on serious, felony, charges.
In 2019, a law was passed that changed drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor so long as the suspect had less than 4 grams of drugs on them, including methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is similar to heroin or morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. Thus, it is 50 to 100 times more deadly, and the overdose statistics in Colorado show that fact.
In Greeley, from 2010 to 2017, there was an average of 50 deaths per year due to synthetic opioids mentioning fentanyl overdoses; 400 deaths total during that time. In 2018 the number of synthetic opioids mentioning fentanyl overdoses jumped to 102 deaths. In 2019, 2020 and 2021 that yearly total was 222, 540 and 912 overdose deaths, respectively.
The total number of overdose deaths to synthetic opioids mentioning fentanyl in just Greeley, just during the last four years, is 1,776.
The trends are unfortunately similar with methamphetamine drug overdoses.
From 2010 to 2016, there was an average of 100 deaths per year due to methamphetamine overdoses; 705 deaths total during that time. In 2017 the number of methamphetamine overdose deaths climbed to 299. In 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 the yearly total was 318, 349, 525 and 749 overdose deaths, respectively.
I tell you all of that not to place blame or pass the buck. I feel it is important for the community to be made aware of, and to really understand, the challenges and limitations that we as law enforcement officers are navigating each day.
It is also important to understand the difficulties with drugs, alcohol and mental health issues that a lot of our clientele are struggling with.
We constantly respond to calls for service that only a few years ago would result in the arrest of the suspect. With some of the legislative changes that have been made in Colorado, we are left to issue a summons to court and leave.
I also feel it is important to disperse some of the false narratives surrounding crime and inequality in Greeley and also Colorado.
The most disadvantaged members of our community do not commit the most crime. In fact, crime disproportionately impacts disadvantaged and minority populations more.
The majority of crime is opportunistic in nature and spans all socioeconomic status. Most importantly, there are a small number of offenders that are committing a disproportionate amount of harm to society based on the percentage of the society they make-up.
Since 2015 we have engaged in a strategy called the Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety Model. We utilize data to help us deploy additional resources where crime and traffic crashes overlap.
This strategy has proven effective across the country in reducing social harms in communities.
There is a need for reflection, evaluation and action. We have seen multiple instances of changes in crime rates, mental health rankings and drug-related deaths that correlate with various legislative changes. Public safety takes all of us.
Reducing crime in the community is a high priority for the Greeley Police Department. I feel it is important to take a statewide, holistic, common-sense approach to address these acute and long-term issues.
The increasing crime rates impact where people live, work and play.
I am incredibly grateful to be at the helm of what I feel is the best law enforcement agency in the state. We understand the challenges that lie ahead of us and my officers, command staff and I are committed to proudly working with the citizens to protect our community.
I believe that engaged communities are safe communities and that is where I ask for the communities help with this mission. Bring solutions, we are here to listen.
We must pause and evaluate the impacts of previous efforts if we are to right the ship in Colorado — before we continue this concerning slide.
— Adam Turk is chief of the Greeley Police Department
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