Latest news with #MajorCitiesChiefsAssociation
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
APD police chief speaks about what's driving down crime numbers in the city
AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — New numbers compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association show the number of homicides and numerous other violent crimes are down in the city of Aurora. Homicides in the city dropped 36% from 14 to 9 in the first quarter of 2025 compared to last year. Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain says when his officers evaluate crime, they look at the three Ps: Policies, process, and people. Newly released report says homicides dropped nearly 60% in Denver in 2025 He says it's not just an enforcement component driving down numbers but also an intervention aspect. 'I think we're in a much better place than we were, and I think we are going in the right trajectory,' said Chamberlain. He said it wasn't surprising to learn of the declining crime rates in his city, but instead rewarding. 'Last year at this time, we had 5,193 people that were victimized by crime,' said Chamberlain. Right now, year-to-date, we have 4,045. That's a difference of 1,148 individuals that weren't victimized. That's what the mission of law enforcement is.' Chamberlain said technology, work from community groups and government approaches like Aurora SAVE, aimed at reducing youth violence, have played a role in the dropping numbers. 'Not just giving them the aspect from law enforcement but also giving them alternatives,' he said. 'Working with other nonprofit organizations that can provide tattoo removal, that can provide gang intervention, that can provide some type of job in the union. They can provide anything again that's not strictly just enforcement.' Aurora has been in the national spotlight after a narrative was picked up by President Donald Trump that crime and gang violence had increased with the arrival of Venezuelan migrants and the presence of Tren de Aragua. Aurora police chief shows 'deplorable' conditions inside troubled, closed apartment complex 'All of those things we constantly address. It's not just a one-time shop where you go in there and say this problem is solved. That's the complexity of working in an incredibly diverse community,' said Chamberlain. 'That's the complexity of working in law enforcement.' He said he is a big believer in statistics and data. 'It validates what we're doing incorrectly and correctly and when you look at evidence-based policing, that's something I was very thankful to bring into APD,' Chamberlain told FOX31. 'Where we looked at different strategies, we looked at opportunities to have impact on crime from a near, mid and far term.' Officers use the hotspot policing approach to first identify a problematic area and focus there instead of over policing. Then they turn to problem-oriented policing using partnerships with the community. 'I'll use Dallas (Street) as a good example of problem-oriented policing,' said Chamberlain. 'We knew there was a problem. We knew there was an issue. We addressed the offenders, but then we had to go beyond that and address issues to that complex related to how it was managed. What was occurring? Then that's when the crime nuisance came and that complex was closed and that's the part that's important.' Officers then focus on a long-term strategy that uses an 'Intervention Prevention' component. where officers identify people with a high propensity to violence and offer alternatives. 'The biggest challenge right now it's going to be a continuous effort. I don't think we can ever let up the gas. It's never a time when you're spiking the football in the end zone,' said Chamberlain. 'There's never a time when you close your locker and say that's it, because it never stops. There's always crime happening, always victimization happening, and it's always a need for law enforcement to respond to those.' Overall crime is down 22.8% in the city. Chamberlain says the department will continue to evaluate its process and policies. One example of one working is the pursuit policy implemented back in February. Aurora police officers now authorized to start, stop pursuits in crime crackdown 'We had about 30 pursuits since that came out in February. Out of those 30 pursuits, we had no major issue with any of them,' he said. 'Almost all of them ended in one or two minutes, which is exactly what you want because the longer a pursuit goes, the higher the risk related to it. Almost every single person had prolific, prolific criminal history, we've gotten multiple guns out of vehicles.' The report showed a slight increase in sexual assault cases. Those crimes increased from 56 to 58. 'It's really a complex thing because we want to make sure people are victims of it first feel they can report it. A lot of times those incidents occur behind closed doors and happen in domestic situations. They also occur with dates. That's what I want to make sure with our community at all times we want them to know we want to hear that information,' said Chamberlain. 'I hope that's part of the reason why the numbers have gone up because we've reached out to some of our communities that may have not come forward based upon their status, based upon where they are from.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Homicide rates continue dropping in Denver
Preliminary data shows homicides in Denver and Aurora fell in the first three months of 2025, as overall violent crime continued its post-pandemic drop in the nation's largest cities. The big picture: Homicides in Denver fell by 58% — significantly higher than the rate of the largest cities in the country, which dropped 21%, per stats compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA). Why it matters: The numbers indicate that the COVID-era crime wave has largely faded — even as some officials, including President Trump, falsely claim immigrants are driving increased crime rates. Between the lines: This year's drop continues a yearslong trend of declining homicide rates in Denver. State of play: Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and police chief Ron Thomas spoke about the dip in violent crime rates during a community event last month. "The data is heading in the right direction," Johnston said at the event, something he credited to "thoughtful" engagement and partnering with the community. What they're saying:"What I'm most proud of is the fact that we've been able to make these significant strides in public safety without having to over-police communities," Thomas said. Zoom in: Violent crime, especially homicides, spiked during the final year of Trump's first term and Joe Biden's first two years as president. Since then, rates have dropped dramatically, an Axios review of MCCA data shows. Nationwide, violent crime — robberies, rapes and aggravated assaults — decreased by an average of 14% in the first quarter of this year, reports from police departments in 68 cities indicate. The intrigue: Aurora, which Trump singled out, falsely claiming it's overrun by Venezuelan gangs, saw a 36% decline in homicide in early 2025. That followed a 5% drop in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to the MCCA. Trump repeatedly claimed during the 2024 campaign that migrants from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East were driving big jumps in violent crimes. Caveat: The data didn't include New York City, the nation's largest city, which didn't submit crime numbers.
Axios
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Homicides in big cities kept declining in Q1 of 2025, stats show
Preliminary data show homicides in the nation's largest cities fell by 21% in the first three months of 2025 from the same period of last year, as overall violent crime continued its post-pandemic drop. Why it matters: Stats compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) indicate that the COVID-era crime wave has almost faded away — even as some officials, including President Trump, falsely claim that immigrants are driving increased crime rates. The big picture: Violent crime, especially homicides, spiked during the final year of Trump's first term and during Joe Biden's first two years as president. Since then, they've been dropping dramatically, an Axios review of MCCA data shows. Overall, violent crimes — robberies, rapes and aggravated assaults — decreased by an average of 14% in the first quarter of this year, reports from police departments in 68 cities indicate. Many cities have had significant drops in homicides so far this year. Dallas has seen a 44% decline. Denver (58%), Honolulu (82%), Minneapolis (54%) and Philadelphia (28%) were among the cities showing notable drops. The data didn't include New York City, the nation's largest city, which didn't submit crime numbers. New York releases crime stats on its own website, where it reported a 34% drop in homicides in the first quarter of 2025. The intrigue: Aurora, Colo., a Denver suburb that Trump singled out as being overrun by Venezuelan gangs, saw a 36% decline in homicide in early 2025. That followed a 5% drop in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to the MCCA. Trump repeatedly claimed during the 2024 campaign that migrants from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East were driving big jumps in violent crimes. Reality check: Study after study has indicated that immigrants — those in the U.S. legally, and those who aren't — commit crimes at lower rates than U.S. citizens. A report in December found that the homicide surge of 2020 was primarily driven by men and teen boys who were laid off or saw their schools close during pandemic shutdowns. Another study of 15 cities by the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF), a group that defends officers facing prosecution, says "repolicing" and stepped up arrests help drive down homicides. Yes, but: A few cities did have large jumps in homicides in the first three months of 2025, the MCCA data show.
New York Post
06-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Duh! Study shows ‘defund the police' resulted in more killings
According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, a police group that tracks crime levels, murders rose 44% from 2019 to 2021 across 70 of America's largest cities. But then something happened – big city murders fell dramatically from their peak from over 9,600 in 2021 to 6,900 in 2024 – a 39% decline. What explains the dramatic rise and equally shocking reversal? Policing – first the lack thereof and then its return. Our new study of 15 major cities including New York City, Chicago, Austin, Portland and Minneapolis found that murders spiked in the wake of the summer 2020 unrest as police pulled back – making fewer stops and arrests. When policing rebounded in these cities, murders declined dramatically. Across the 15 cities with a combined population of 27 million and a disproportion share of violent crime, police stops and arrests dropped 40% after May 2020, but have since risen –up 37% from their recent lows in 2021 and 2022. Meanwhile, homicides fell 32% from their recent highs. That more policing would cut crime is not only commonsense, it is borne out by numerous academic studies showing proactive policing reduces violent crime. But our study finds recent murder declines are linked to a 're-policing effect.' As arrests and stops rose, homicides declined rapidly. Those cities where policing levels remain low, murder rates remain near highs. Post-George Floyd de-policing – when demoralized, debilitated, and depleted police forces step back from aggressive anti-crime activities fearing political, professional, or personal consequences for doing their jobs – exacerbated the growing violent and serious crime problem. The Defund The Police movement and the officials espousing anti-police sentiments sent a clear message to frontline officers: don't bother. Big city murders saw a 39% decline from their peak of over 9,600 in 2021 to 6,900 in 2024. James Keivom Emboldened criminals stepped into the vacuum and mayhem ensued. By 2021, the CDC recorded over 26,000 homicides nationwide – 7,000 'excess' killings compared to 2019 levels – and more than half of those additional homicides occurred in the 70 largest cities. As the public recoiled at the growing carnage, many local and state officials who had previously supported the 'Defund the Police' agenda and espoused anti-law enforcement sentiments reversed course while others met with electoral defeat. These shifts in opinion and policy resulted in re-policing that empowered law enforcement to crack down on crime through proactive policing. Cops began to make arrests and stops at increasing rates—and murders fell. Big cities murders are back to 2019 totals – thanks to the police. The Big Apple's experience is telling. Murders rose 44% from May 2020 to February 2022 as arrests declined. When NYPD began to re-police – arrests climbed 95% from 2021 to 2024 — murders dropped. Other big (and violent) cities saw the same effect. In New Orleans, which was slow to re-police, murders fell by half from their heights when stops and searches returned to Pre-Floyd levels. Elsewhere, cities like Austin, Minneapolis, and Portland fully embraced 'defund the police' and the anti-cop rhetoric of 2020 and killings skyrocketed as police activity plummeted. After experiencing eye-popping murder spikes, each city has pulled back from the brink. The mayor of Portland has renounced his prior support for police defunding while in Minneapolis voters rejected a ballot measure to abolish the police department in 2021. In those three jurisdictions, re-policing has been slower but steady and murders are falling but remain elevated – suggesting re-policing has a proportionate impact on homicides. Outliers remain. In Dallas and Philadelphia, arrests have ticked up as murders fell but killings had been rising prior to 2020. In the city of Brotherly Love, homicides had risen by 50% from 2015 to 2019 after voters elected an anti-police mayor in 2016 and Soros DA Larry Krasner in 2017. Dallas murders spiked 2019 after a Soros DA took office causing the governor to send in the state police – twice – to quell the violence. Baltimore is a peculiar case, having its 'Floyd' moment five years prior to the summer of 2020 – and the resulting de-policing and homicide spike. Murders rose 65% after the 2015 Freddie Gray incident and remained high for the next eight years. Then the progressive prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, was replaced by a tough-on-crime DA. As police arrests rose again in 2022, murder rates tumbled to record lows. Every one of the 15 cities has seen its homicide numbers drop since 2021—except Seattle. It is also the only city that did not see any increase in police enforcement. Seattle police make 60% fewer stops than they did in 2019 while the murder rate is 50% higher. The city's experience provides a useful, if tragic, counterfactual, which proves the impact of re-policing on murders. After the disastrous and bloody Defund the Police experiment in de-policing, cops are back on the streets and murders are down. The re-policing effect is real: more policing means less murder. Jason Johnson, former deputy commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, is the president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF). Sean Kennedy is LELDF policy director.
Axios
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Homicides in San Francisco dropped 31% in 2024
Homicides in San Francisco fell by 31% from 2023 to 2024 amid a drop in overall violent crime, according to preliminary data compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA). Why it matters: The stats suggest the COVID-era crime wave all but evaporated from the nation's largest cities during former President Biden's final year in office, even as President Trump's claims that crime was up in cities like San Francisco became a key part of his election strategy. Zoom in: San Francisco recorded 35 homicides in 2024, down from 51 in 2023, per MCCA's data. The city also recorded 195 rapes in 2024 compared to 296 in 2023; 2,098 robberies last year compared to 2,742 in 2023; and 2,289 aggravated assaults in 2024 compared to 2,480 in the year prior. Between the lines: The figures continue a yearslong decline in violent crime despite the persistence of the doom loop narrative and perceptions of San Francisco as a crime-ridden city. The San Francisco Police Department in December attributed the downward trend to its violence prevention efforts and new technology like drones and automated license plate readers. The big picture: Violent crime, especially homicides, rose during Biden's first two years as president before dropping dramatically the next two years, the MCCA data show. An Axios analysis of the 2024 preliminary crime data from 69 self-reporting large police departments in the U.S. found that violent crimes decreased overall by 6%. Robberies (-9%), rape (-6%), and aggravated assaults (-5%) all declined, the Axios analysis found. Homicides dropped 24% from 2020 (the first nine months of the pandemic and Trump's last year in office) to 2024.
