Denver’s homicides fell almost 50% to an 11-year low in 2025, plunging to ranges hardly ever seen over the past three a long time as crime general largely declined throughout town.
Thirty-seven individuals had been killed in Denver in 2025, the third-lowest quantity on file for any 12 months since 1990, in response to data stored by the Denver Police Division. Solely in 2000 and 2014 did town see fewer annual homicides, with 33 and 31 individuals killed in these years.
“This can be a historic success for town and we’re thrilled about it,” Mayor Mike Johnston stated Friday, characterizing the decline in violence as “past anybody’s wildest expectations.”
The 37 homicides in 2025 mark a 47% lower from the 70 homicides town skilled in 2024, and a 62% drop from the decades-high 96 homicides in 2021.
Non-fatal shootings additionally declined. As of mid-December 2024, 228 individuals had been shot in 194 shootings throughout Denver. That fell roughly 40% to 137 individuals shot in 114 incidents by mid-December 2025, in response to police information.
The drop in gun violence got here amid general declining violent crime and property crime within the metropolis, and continued a years-long development that’s been seen each regionally and nationwide as crime fell from historic highs through the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Denver, all crime dropped about 5% from 2024 to 2025, in response to the police information.
Denver noticed a few 6% decline in violent crime and a few 13% drop in property crime, in response to the police division.
However the metropolis noticed a rise in what it calls “different crimes,” which covers a broad swath of offenses, together with, amongst different crimes, white collar offenses, public dysfunction and indecency, possessing or promoting medication, easy assault and home violence assault. Such crimes rose about 5% citywide.
Larceny, which incorporates retail theft and different kinds of theft, rose about 6%, a soar that Denver police Chief Ron Thomas attributed to elevated reporting because the division ramped up its give attention to theft enforcement in 2025 and inspired enterprise homeowners to name police about retail theft.
“That led to a better quantity being recognized for us, which continues to be useful; it nonetheless helps us perceive the place we have to focus our assets,” Thomas stated.
The town noticed an 18% drop in retail theft in two procuring facilities — Quebec Sq. and the Retailers at Northfield — the place officers centered consideration on theft as a part of a pilot program in 2025.
Johnston hopes to see retail theft drop throughout town throughout 2026, he stated.
“We expect over time we’ll get to steadier decrease numbers,” he stated.
Homicides down
Denver’s homicides in 2025 weren’t pushed by gang violence, home violence or youth violence.
The town noticed simply two gang-related homicides and three domestic-violence homicides in 2025 (down from 5 and 12 in 2024, respectively). Solely two kids — a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy — had been killed, down from seven in 2024, police data present.
By means of mid-December, one other eight kids, all between the ages of 15 and 17, had been shot however survived, police data present. That’s down from 26 kids shot and wounded in 2024.
Most homicides in 2025 had been linked to interpersonal disputes, arguments or confrontations between individuals identified to one another about quite a lot of subjects, Thomas stated. Investigators found a earlier connection between the victims and suspects in 19 instances, police information reveals.
In 9 instances, the sufferer was killed by a stranger. In one other 9 instances, the connection stays unclear.
Suspects shot their victims to dying in 65% of homicides and used a knife in 19% of assaults, police information reveals.
Thomas credited quite a lot of police methods for the drop in homicides and shootings, and famous town’s give attention to specific geographic areas that change into hotspots for violence and officers’ connections with group organizations that work to move off violence earlier than it happens.
“Them doing violence discount and being out in the neighborhood and talking to younger individuals on a regular basis averts violent crime that we will’t even quantify,” Thomas stated.
Adrien Williams, director of violence intervention at Life-Line Colorado, a nonprofit centered on violence discount, observed the slower tempo of gun violence throughout 2025. However violence is available in waves, he stated, and he’s already bracing for the subsequent wave to hit.
“I really feel like lots of the heavy hitters that had been on the market this previous 12 months, they’re both incarcerated now, or sadly, they’re useless,” he stated. “And I really feel like possibly it’s going to die out and be sluggish for some time, after which we’ll expertise little brothers and sisters who develop up and wish to take a part of what their siblings had been a part of, or that they began.”
‘The work will not be carried out’
Thomas hopes to proceed the slower tempo of violence in 2026.
“The problem is to attempt to see even additional reductions; clearly, the work will not be carried out,” Thomas stated. “We now have recognized some efficient methods and we wish to proceed with these methods, proceed to have a look at the numbers and see if there are different issues we will impression.”
The chief additionally expects the division to give attention to unsafe drivers over the subsequent 12 months, in addition to persevering with officers’ give attention to public drug use and so-called “high quality of life” crimes.
“Seeing individuals which are drag-racing or using wheelies down the road or racing round city with out consequence results in a way of lawlessness that I’m hopeful we will deal with,” Thomas stated.
Johnston stated the lower in violent crime ought to enable officers to pay extra consideration to lower-level offenses within the coming 12 months. He desires to see the downward crime development proceed by way of 2026.
“Our expectation and plan isn’t just to maintain it low, however to attempt to deliver it decrease,” he stated.
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