Why the poor perception of aurora? (Denver: 2013, violent crime, felony)

[pattyobrien3]

I moved to aurora from Oklahoma about 2 1/2 years ago, and I consistently get the impression from people that aurora isn't a very safe or nice place to live. I personally haven't had any issues - there are bad areas in town, yes, but that can be said of just about every large city anywhere. And the division seems to be more pronounced than other cities - I've heard of the 'nice' part of aurora many times, but I've never heard people refer to the 'nice' parts of denver or co springs.

Recently, I've heard of a 2013 FBI crime ranking that actually rates aurora lower in crime per capita than both Denver and Colorado springs. And even as someone who lives here, and likes it here, I'm very surprised by that statistic. To someone who has negative views of aurora, I'm sure it would be downright unbelievable. And I'm not alone - the city recently held a seminar about this that I attended, and the speaker said they presented the findings of that study to focus groups and almost no one rated aurora as safer than the other big CO cities, but the FBI does.

And it's not the aurora shooting, either. The focus groups mentioned in the seminar didn't consider the theater shooting as indicative of an unsafe city, but rather the actions on a lone crazy person.

As an outsider to the state, I really have to wonder: Why the bad opinion of aurora? Surely there must be, or once was, some basis in fact of this widely held opinion.

About the only anecdotal evidence to support this view is from my brother - a state patrolman. He said most of the time he pulls over someone who has a felony warrant on them, or they're driving with an expired license, or something else that's pretty bad, he says they're from aurora. He's also indicated that other police officers he works with have a negative view of the city - I've heard the term "aurorastan" mentioned in regards to its safety.

I guess I'm just confused about the crossed signals I'm getting. How can it be regarded as being a bad, crime-riddled underbelly of Denver when it actually has less crime? Any locals or long-term residents have any opinions?

And is anyone aware of the 2013 FBI crime statistic showing that aurora is safer, per capita, than Denver and Colorado springs? I cannot seem to find it on the internet. Perhaps my google-fu is weak.

[bluescreen73]

Simply put, old perceptions die hard. Most people bagging on Aurora don't realize that there's more to the city than the Colfax Ave. corridor. Southeast Aurora is actually fairly affluent.

[pattyobrien3]

I guess that's my question - what old perceptions are there and where did they come from?

And honestly, Colfax is still a pretty seedy part of down, but recent construction projects like the VA hospital and the Anschutz medical campus will likely help with that in time.

[bluescreen73]

Aurora (along with several parts of Denver) had gang problems in the 80s and 90s. East Colfax was a haven for drug dealing and prostitution (still is to a certain extent).

Honestly, though, back in the day you were just as likely to get mugged or shot in Park Hill, Montbello, or Five Points as you were in Aurora.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by pattyobrien3

I guess I'm just confused about the crossed signals I'm getting. How can it be regarded as being a bad, crime-riddled underbelly of Denver when it actually has less crime? Any locals or long-term residents have any opinions?

Either perception or truth that it has more minorities.

[mic111]

Violent crime in the US used to be much worse than it is now. Take a look at the graph. It has been declining since the early '90s.
Crime in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At that time many neighborhoods in Denver that are now gentrified had crime problems, bars on windows etc. Aurora also had crime problems. People's nature is to want to feel superior to someone so if they could point to Aurora as being crime ridden then they would feel better about themselves even if where they lived was just as much of a pit as the areas they were pointing at. Since the '90s everywhere has been improving in crime, including all of metro Denver. Aurora has also improved but people still need to point to somewhere else in order to feel superior so the stigma continues. However Aurora has grown substantially since the early '90s. All the new housing is generally very nice and in good areas. Even the older areas have aged nicely and as you note the crime is less than more inner city areas because the suburbs are the suburbs whether they are in Aurora or any place else.

[Indigo Cardinal]

I've lived in Aurora for about 15 years (my first few years in Colorado I was in Denver). I bought a house near where the Buckingham Square Mall used to be, and a lot of people warned me about buying here--apparently Buckingham had some gang problems just a few short years before I moved in, and the perception was still hanging on. Now that Buckingham is gone and the Gardens are in its place, people seem to have let go of that. I was also advised once that there was gang activity near Del Mar Circle--whether that's still true or not, I don't know (as I don't have any reason to go over there.)

I have wondered if it's because there seem to be more minorities in Aurora (I have no idea if that data backs up this perception), and that causes people to think Aurora's crime-ridden. Personally, I haven't any problems since I've lived here.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by Indigo Cardinal

I've lived in Aurora for about 15 years (my first few years in Colorado I was in Denver). I bought a house near where the Buckingham Square Mall used to be, and a lot of people warned me about buying here--apparently Buckingham had some gang problems just a few short years before I moved in, and the perception was still hanging on. Now that Buckingham is gone and the Gardens are in its place, people seem to have let go of that. I was also advised once that there was gang activity near Del Mar Circle--whether that's still true or not, I don't know (as I don't have any reason to go over there.)

I have wondered if it's because there seem to be more minorities in Aurora (I have no idea if that data backs up this perception), and that causes people to think Aurora's crime-ridden. Personally, I haven't any problems since I've lived here.

I used to ride my bike to Buckingham Mall in the late 80s to play video games at the arcade. Don't recall gang problems.