Colorado Springs Crime Rate ? (Denver, Lakewood: relocating, work, health)

[keikekai]

Hi,

I was on Sperling's Best Places website (city compare)

City Compare

and noticed that Colorado Springs Crime rate is listed at a 6 for violent crime, and a 6 for property crime (the average in the U.S. is a 3 for both violent and property crime)....this was a little shocking to see.

Would you say this is truly the case ? Is there a certain area that would be better (for a lower crime rate) or is the whole town about the same ? This seems really high (ex. Las Vegas,NV scores an 8 on both, which is understandable, but I thought this being a conservative, religious town, the crime rate would be a lot lower....

Any comments on this ?

[vfrpilot]

Most of the crime seems to be concentrated on the south end of town, mostly in pockets where there is section 8 housing. There are a few others, but mostly COS is pretty safe, especially as you go further north. I don't know what to think about those crime stats, because we felt pretty safe in our CA neighborhood even though those stats said we were in danger of our lives.
There have been other posts on this subject by folks who have first hand experience. Try a search to see if anything comes up.

[emeraldsky]

We lived in Colorado Springs for almost 10 years (just moved to Wyoming 3 months ago). We were in the northeastern part. I have to say I was shocked sometimes to hear on the news that there were bank robberies close by in our section of town. Like 2 streets over. Occasional school lockdowns too. And I was frustrated at one point when a car would park across the street from our home at night pretty regularly. I could tell they were doing drugs. Had to call the police (not 911, just the local hotline thing, 1st time I ever did that) a couple times before they stopped coming around. There are a lot of great things about the Springs though and a lot of good people. But I wouldn't leave my door unlocked, house or car. You get crazy solicitors too. Sales people knock often. They tossed my "no solicitors" sign down more than once, and once when we said no thanks to someone who wanted to shovel our snow (I like the exercise personally) they wrote obscenities in the snow. Or they get mad when you turn them down. Quite creepy. That is one thing I haven't ran into here in Wyoming. Not a single solicitor. But we're out of town right now, hope that doesn't change if we move in town. Anyway... I'm not too surprised to see those stats. Just reading the paper there too, you learn about a lot of things you don't see or experience. And we heard the helicopters with the search lights all the time. I used to think it was for the weather until I mostly saw them at night and noticed the search lights and my husband told me they were looking for someone.

[Postal]

Originally Posted by emeraldsky

But I wouldn't leave my door unlocked, house or car.

I wouldn't leave any doors unlocked anywhere in the world, even when I'm in the house. The time where you could do that has come and long gone. People need to realize there are certain protective measure you must take to lower your chances of becoming a victim. Cops are too busy sitting on side streets with radar guns trying to steal money from the normal people so they can buy more radar guns to steal more money. They aren't out patrolling the neighborhood. Perhaps CO should work to get the reputation of Texas where everyone is thought to carry a concealed handgun.

[Kar54]

Originally Posted by Postal

I wouldn't leave any doors unlocked anywhere in the world, even when I'm in the house. The time where you could do that has come and long gone. People need to realize there are certain protective measure you must take to lower your chances of becoming a victim. Cops are too busy sitting on side streets with radar guns trying to steal money from the normal people so they can buy more radar guns to steal more money. They aren't out patrolling the neighborhood. Perhaps CO should work to get the reputation of Texas where everyone is thought to carry a concealed handgun.

Agree. When I hear people comment that "I didn't think it could happen here!" it's just naive anymore to think it can't. Unfortunate but true.

[Postal]

Originally Posted by Kar54

Agree. When I hear people comment that "I didn't think it could happen here!" it's just naive anymore to think it can't. Unfortunate but true.

And anymore, the first thing a cop is going to ask is "did you lock your door". It's not right, but that's just how it is. We need to find an island to exile these people to, then maybe you can start leaving your doors unlocked again.

[keikekai]

WOW - I guess I am a little stunned to hear all of this....
I thought it was going to be a safer area then what I am reading....
Are there any towns in CO that you would recommend more so than Colorado Springs (that are safer/less crime, family friendly, not too much snow, lots of sun) etc. ????

Of course, who still leaves their doors unlocked ? I guess in some tiny rural towns people do (but its not something I have ever done) I lock my doors (house/car) all the time - I am trying to see if the crime rate is that high, I may have to reconsider my choice in relocating... I have 3 young children, and don't want to feel 'unsafe' in any town I live in.
Is the crime better in any of these towns (that you are aware of):
Fort Collins, Glendale, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Littleton, Superior, Westminster, Denver, Boulder...???????
Thanks for your input.

[COflower]

I've lived in Colorado Springs for 34 of my 39 years and I don't feel unsafe at all.

Anything can happen to anyone, anytime in any city or small town. I didn't live here from 25 to 30 years old and it really hasn't changed that much since I came back. Perhaps the better availability for people to get data makes it seem worse than it is.

Honestly, I don't think C Springs is unsafe.

Despite the stats (which can be misleading) even Money mag named it #1 in 2006 for big cities and it beat out places like New York, Chicago...Also, a smaller city in Colorado, Ft. Collins, won #1 for small cities the same year:

MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2006: Colorado Springs, CO snapshot

If crime was that horrible, I think people would be moving out in droves but as mentioned above, the worst crimes usually occur in the south-southeast parts of our city. And is normal for most places, crime tends to rise with economic downturns. While Colorado and Colorado Springs have been pretty healthy (I read The Denver Post a lot) compared to some other places, it's not been a cake walk here either.

[Postal]

I really think alot of how safe a place is rests on how you act. If you are one of the less intelligent citizens, maybe it will be unsafe. But if you take a few precautions, then you should be fine. Lock your doors and don't go into dangerous areas at night. One thing that I think 99% of Americans lack is situational awareness. Keep track of your surroundings. That will help you in so many more ways than just public safety. Basically, don't be the stupid American than most people think you are.

[jazzlover]

Sorry to say, but towns or cities with a lot of short-term residents, part-time residents, tourists, and rapid growth tend to have more crime problems than places with relatively stable, permanent populations. Unfortunately, a lot of towns and cities across the Rocky Mountain West have one or more characteristic of the demographic I described above, including Colorado Springs. Also, places with a lot of illegal aliens have more crime problems. While many aliens, legal or otherwise, are just hardworking people trying to make a living, there are a number of them that are in this country to conduct illegal activities (drug trade, gangs, etc.). Colorado Springs, along with many Colorado locales, have a subtantial number of illegals living there.