How safe is denver for a big city??

[davidv]

Originally Posted by midwestecon

I just looked at the Denver Police Crime Statistics from last year and it says the city had 4,774 violent crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assaults). The 2011 population statistics show 619,000 people in Denver. Which makes for a violent crime rate of 771 per 100,000 residents. The national average in 2011 according to the FBI was 386.3. I know that last year was sort of a high year of violent crime in Denver compared to usual and it is down this year.

I saw that Denver had 38 homicides last year, down from 43 in 2011. So far this year, Denver has had 20 homicides.

I don't think Denver is a safe city but in no way is it a violent city overall. It is very middle of the road when it comes to cities in its population class.

I think remember doing research once and the violent crime rate ranged from about 300 per 100,000 residents in SE Denver to well over 1,000 per 100,000 in South-west and North-east Denver.

The suburban areas tend to have more violent crime then most metro areas. Many cities don't have any violent suburbs. But Aurora, Commerce City, Lakewood and Thornton have all had crime issues recently.

The reason for Denver's safe reputation is many transplants come from much more violent cities and the violent crime in Denver is far more spread out then most cities. I would say rather then a 10-20 square miles of very violent areas, Denver violent crime tends to dispersed throughout a much larger area, but also much less intense then most cities.

Your numbers are correct, but they make comparisons with other cities hard to make.

According to this Denver Post article, the FBI figures (3584 violent crimes) are far lower than the DPD number (4163 violent crimes). That would make the violent crime rate 579 per 100,000 residents. If the FBI is undercounting in Denver, than it is probably undercounting everywhere. While the DPD number is probably more accurate, when you compare crime rates, you probably would get a number generated by the FBI which would skew lower.

In any event, use this page to find data broken down by neighborhood.

[eamu]

Denver is mostly safe. Just like any other place. I am from Loveland and was pretty comfortable living in Denver, you've got to be smart of course. I even worked at a restaurant right by the Denver Rescue Mission (in Five Points) and walked by lots of unsettling types, but was never hassled and never intimidated.

[dnvrsoul]

Now living in Florida (Tampa) Denver is extremely safe-I never had an incident in Denver with crime...I have had three living in Tampa.

Don't get me wrong you can't keep your doors unlocked all night or not pay attention but it's pretty safe.

[davebarnes]

1. Leave your car parked in its garage. Never take it out of the garage.
2. Wear you bullet-proof vest whenever you venture outside your house.
3. Have your food delivered so you don't have to venture outside.
4. Avoid all contacts with hookers.
5. Don't do drugs!