Colorado conjures up visions of mountains and snow, like John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” where it rains fire in the sky and shadows from starlight are softer than a lullaby. Today a new vision emerges of Colorado, namely crime and violence.
The Common Sense Institute, a Colorado based non-partisan think tank, recently did a deep dive and wrote a report on “Crime in Colorado in 2022”. The results are sobering and depressing. Here are some of the key points.
“This year, Colorado’s average monthly crime rate has been 530 crimes per 100,000 residents, with no relief in sight. While slightly lower than last year’s peak, it remains 7.3% higher than in 2019, and 20% higher than in 2008.”
“Compared to other states, Colorado ranks first in motor vehicle theft and second in property crimes.”
“The 412 pounds (of fentanyl) seized so far this year is enough to kill 93 million people. The total number of drug overdose deaths has gone up in each of the past three years and opioids, fentanyl in particular, claimed the most lives.”
“Fentanyl will likely kill over 1,500 Coloradans this year, nearly 500 more than 2021. Between 4 and 5 Coloradans are dying daily from overdosing on synthetic opioids (including fentanyl) on average in 2022. This is up from 2 to 3 Coloradans per day in 2021.”
“Comparing Colorado to all other states and the District of Columbia, Colorado now ranks 16th in total overdose deaths, up 7 places from 2021.
Nearly two-thirds of overdose deaths occur among people between 15 and 44 years old. At current rates, 2,000 Coloradans will die from drug overdoses in 2022.”
Such crime potentially affects all Coloradans, both young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican. As there is an upcoming election, voters should ask themselves the age-old pre-election question, “Are you better off now compared to four years ago?”
Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, has been in charge over the past four years, along with a state legislature controlled by Democrats. Not everything is under their control, but many contributory factors are. These include no cash bail, defund the police movements, nonenforcement of immigration laws in sanctuary state Colorado and in many sanctuary cities including Denver.
These are more than simply talking points. Several weeks ago, a 24-year-old Weld County Sheriff’s Deputy was killed by an illegal immigrant who was under the influence at the time of the hit-and-run. Such a tragedy, along with many others, are preventable if Colorado elected officials chose to enforce existing laws.
In a recent gubernatorial debate, GOP challenger Heidi Ganahl raised the important issues of the economy, crime, and education with the Governor. Polis’s response was to pat himself on the back over strong job numbers while criticizing Ganahl’s running mate, Danny Moore, who raised questions over election integrity.
Election integrity may be a fringe conspiracy theory for Democrats and the media, but most Americans respectfully disagree. Rasmussen Reports in a survey last week found, “84% of likely U.S. voters believe the issue of election integrity will be important in this year’s congressional elections.”
It’s a time for choosing for Colorado voters, the choice between the current Democrat leadership allowing Colorado to become a crime capital for America or Republican challengers, including gubernatorial “mom on a mission” Heidi Ganahl attempting to reverse Colorado’s depressing crime statistics.
Voters have a choice. For many it could be a matter of life or death based on rising crime and drug overdoses. Hopefully they choose wisely.