Data shows increase in Colorado Springs violent crime rate, surpassing national average

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- United Way released its Peak Progress Quality of Life Indicators (QLI) report Wednesday morning, showing an increase in the rate of violent crimes over a five-year period.

The data shows that from 2015 to 2020, violent crime rates rose by 35%. While the city's violent crime rates were under the national average in 2015, the rate has now surpassed the national average.

"The numbers that we look at, of course, we're going to be concerned with," said Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez. "We're going to pay attention to the crime rates, and we have to look at both property crime rates and persons crime rates. So when we talk about violent crime rates, those are the number one factor that we want to consider."

Those numbers increased from 2015, ultimately totaling to rates of 487 violent crimes per 100,000 residents of Colorado Springs in 2020, while the national average of violent crimes per 100,000 residents was 388.

The report shows Colorado Springs's violent crime rates are also high compared to "peer cities," which are cities the analysts draw comparisons to due to similar population sizes and demographics.

Additionally, the QLI report shows an increase in hate crimes in Colorado Springs that is above the national average but below the state average.

However, the findings show that the emergency response time for Colorado Springs Police Department decreased in recent years.

You can find more information about Colorado Springs's Quality of Life categories here.