Homicides and shootings in Denver declined significantly during the first seven months of the year, nearing lows not seen for half a decade.
The city is on track this year to see levels of homicides and shootings similar to what Denver experienced in 2019, before crime soared to historic highs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plunging violence has also been reported in cities nationwide, and continues a steady, years-long decrease since the pandemic peak in 2021.
“What is happening in Denver to varying degrees is happening all over the country,” said Daniel Nagin, professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. “It is going on nationwide.”
Twenty-five people were killed in Denver between January and July, according to data provided by the Denver Police Department. That is a 41% decrease from the 42 people killed in that seven-month time frame in 2024, and a 58% drop from the 60 people killed in that timeframe during the city’s peak violence in 2021.
Homicides in Denver this year are lower than they were even in 2019, when 33 people had been killed by the end of July, police records show. It’s the first time that homicides have dipped below pre-pandemic levels.
“We’re excited to see that, certainly that is something we’ve been striving for,” Denver police Chief Ron Thomas said. “Our work is not done; we’d like to see those numbers continue to go down.”
The city’s non-fatal shootings are also dropping, police data shows. Ninety-nine people were wounded in 86 shootings in Denver between January and July, compared to 123 people injured in 108 shootings during that window in 2024, the records show. That’s a 20% drop in both incidents and victims year-over-year.
By the end of July 2019, 103 people had been wounded in 81 shootings, the data shows. Four fewer people have been shot this year, but across five more shootings.
Why is gun violence declining?
It’s tough to pinpoint why exactly violence is dropping, said Michael Campbell, a criminologist and professor at the University of Denver.
“Part of the story of this massive drop right now is simply that we are getting away from those numbers that were sharply distorted by all the disruption and violence that occurred during the pandemic,” he said. “…This looks to be the return of normalcy… We know social connections, economic stability help mitigate the uncertainty and psychological consequences and stressors that are associated with a higher likelihood of lethal violence.”
Thomas attributed the decline in homicides and shootings to the Denver Police Department’s ongoing multifaceted approach to crime prevention. He cited the efforts of community violence prevention groups like the Struggle of Love Foundation as key to preventing retaliatory and escalating violence.
Joel Hodge, a founder of Struggle of Love, said the nonprofit focuses intense attention on individual kids to help them turn away from violence. Their work is deeply rooted in community relationships and trust, he said.
“I was one of these kids, so I know what they need,” he said. “They just need some love and attention and acceptance.”
Hodge added that there are more programs and outreach for at-risk youth in Denver than in past years, and they are better funded for a broader reach. The declining violence shows that prevention efforts are working, he said.
One such effort, spearheaded by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado Boulder, is in danger of losing $1.2 million in federal funding as soon as next month, center director Beverly Kingston said.
The CU center has relied on funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2011 to lead youth violence prevention efforts in Denver’s Montbello, Green Valley Ranch and Park Hill neighborhoods. Park Hill saw a 75% decrease in youth arrests for violent offenses between 2016 and 2021, while the program was active, according to the university.
Funded in five-year cycles, the center could lose its final year of funding for this cycle amid federal budget cuts, Kingston said, which would cut short not only the on-the-ground violence prevention but also the research and ultimate findings about its effectiveness.
“We’re scrambling,” she said.
Targeted crime-prevention efforts
Denver police focus on both places and people in their crime-prevention efforts.
The department’s Gun Violence Assistance Intervention Network, or GAIN — a strategy used in scores of cities across the nation, including in Aurora — aims to reduce gun violence by identifying the people who are most likely to commit violence or become victims of violence.
Once those people are identified, the city offers them extensive social services if they agree to turn away from gun violence. If they continue committing acts of gun violence, police and prosecutors instead focus their attention on those individuals and aim to crack down on them with the full force of the law.
“(We) let them know that we are more than happy to provide that support, but you’ve got to stop shooting people, shooting at people, carrying a gun,” Thomas said.
The city has seen three gang shootings and two gang homicides so far this year, compared to 11 gang shootings and five gang homicides at this point in 2024, according to the police data.
Most of the city’s homicides are driven by interpersonal conflict rather than gang allegiance, Thomas said.
Not a single child has been killed in Denver so far this year, compared to four youth killed in the first seven months of 2024. Two children were shot between January and July, compared to six children in that time frame last year, the data shows.
Thomas acknowledged the drop in youth violence and said he is not surprised that some community members continue to feel that youth violence is unchecked.
“When a young person is either the suspect or the victim of a violent crime, it really shocks the conscience, it really stands out in your mind,” Thomas said. “So I realize that there could potentially continue to be a perception that youth violence is out of control. …I think it is incorrect. The numbers reveal that it is incorrect.”
Denver police are also continuing their focus on particular geographic areas that are problem spots for violence.
The department has focused efforts on Paco Sanchez and La Alma Lincoln parks, as well as the intersections of East Colfax Avenue and North Verbena Street, Leetsdale Drive and South Oneida Street, and Morrison Road and South Perry Street. The department has also targeted the 4300 to 4800 blocks of North Peoria Street and Lower Downtown.
There is evidence that the focus on the particular areas has been effective — violent gun offenses are down nearly 15% across the seven focus sites this year compared to last, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said.
The approach is also supported by a broad body of research nationally, Carnegie Mellon’s Nagin said. But he added that increased police focus needs to be coupled with robust community relationships and trust to be most effective.
The widespread wave of distrust in police has abated to some degree in Denver since its height in 2020 and 2021, DU’s Campbell said. Better cooperation between police and residents helps officers more effectively prevent crime and make arrests.
“I do believe the DPD has, from what I’ve seen, improved their relationship with a lot of the communities where violence remains an issue,” Campbell said. “It’s not perfect, but things do seem to be better in Denver than other parts of the country in terms of the level of trust.”
Domestic violence still increasing
With the decrease in shootings and homicides, police are turning attention to other types of crime — domestic violence continues to be elevated, Thomas said.
The city is seeing higher numbers of domestic violence assaults and harassment than in previous years, with a nearly 10% increase in overall domestic violence so far in 2025 when compared to the three-year average, police data shows.
Police are also continuing to focus on shoplifting and other minor crimes that impact the day-to-day quality of life in Denver, Thomas said.
The department is currently in the middle of two six-month pilot programs aimed at decreasing such crime along 16th Street and in Quebec Square, a shopping center in northeast Denver.
The programs included an increased police presence at the sites to change “the perception that ‘no one cares here and I can do what I want,’” Thomas said.
The department is still evaluating how well the approach is working and whether it can be duplicated across the city.
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