DENVER — The deadly stabbings along 16th Street Mall this past weekend have brought renewed attention to public safety in downtown Denver.
On Saturday, three people were stabbed along the mall, with a fourth stabbing on Sunday near Union Station. Two people died of their injuries — one of the Saturday victims and the Sunday victim, the Denver Police Department (DPD) said. The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Elijah Caudill, was arrested Sunday.
Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds said the multiple stabbings are a sad reminder of the challenges the area still faces.
“My first reaction was an incredible sadness. My heart goes out to all those who are affected,” said Hinds.
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Hinds, who has represented downtown on the Denver City Council for the past five and a half years, told Denver7 that ongoing construction, including on the 16th Street Mall, can lead people to places where it’s not as safe.
“That unfortunately creates a little bit of uncertainty in where to go,” he said.
According to Hinds, a lack of clear security coordination between different entities also contributes to safety issues.
“We have a whole bunch of residents and businesses that have a patchwork of security, and so it's not as easy for them to communicate with one another,” said the city councilman.
DJ Summers is with the Common Sense Policy Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank that looked at why downtown has struggled to recover from the pandemic.
“Crime is — more than any other factor — what kept people away from visiting downtown Denver,” said Summers. “We found that the most pertinent, the most explanatory variable there was the presence of crime.”
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But Summers said crime has been falling in Denver.
“Crime was at its peak in [2021 and 2022], and each year since then, crime rates have been going down in Colorado and going down in Denver,” said Summers.
Despite that, he and Hinds agree numbers don’t mean much to people when violence does occur.
“Violent crime has gone down 30%,” said Hinds. “But if people don't perceive that, if people perceive that there's lawlessness or they feel fear for their safety, then they don't want to go places.”
Hinds is planning a virtual town hall for Feb. 11 so that members of the public can share their concerns about safety in downtown areas with city officials.
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