AURORA, Colo. – The national political spotlight once again focused on Aurora as former president Donald Trump in Tuesday night’s debate commented on alleged Venezuelan gang activity in the city.
Aurora, like every other community, is no stranger to shootings and violent crime – which Denver7 has extensively covered – but we wanted to step back and look at the bigger picture and what the latest Aurora crime statistics show.
First, here’s what Trump said in the debate.
"We have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums," he said. "They're coming in and they're taking jobs that are occupied right now by African Americans and Hispanics and also unions... You see what's happening with towns throughout the United States. You look at Springfield, Ohio. You look at Aurora in Colorado. They are taking over the towns. They're taking over buildings. They're going in violently. These are the people that [Vice President Kamala Harris] and [President Joe Biden] let into our country. And they're destroying our country. They're dangerous. They're at the highest level of criminality."
Politics
Trump referenced Aurora gang activity during the debate. Aurora responded.
The overall picture in Aurora shows crimes tracked across the seven major categories by the Aurora Police Department are down by 17.2%, according to data provided to Denver7 by the city.
Denver7 is breaking down the 7 categories below from current statistics as of September 8, 2024. You can scroll further to see breakouts by the three police districts in Aurora.
AURORA CITYWIDE CRIME TREND
MURDER
Data showed 27 murders in the city so far in 2024, which is the same number of murders reported by this time in 2023. For full context, Aurora data over the last 5 years shows 25 murders on average by this time in the year.
SEX ASSAULTS
There have been 189 reported sex assaults in Aurora this year so far, which is down 17% year-to-date from 2023. That number is significantly down when looking at the 5-year-average, which showed 247 sex assaults by this point in the year.However, aggravated assaults are slightly up in Aurora. APD data reports 1,416 aggravated assaults in 2024 which is up nearly 4% from the 1368 reported in 2023.
ASSAULTS INVOLVING GANG ACTIVITY
Aurora police report a subcategory of aggravated assaults involving gang activity which is up 33% from 2023.
While the number of assaults involving gang activity has increased from last year – the five-year average shows aggravated assaults involving gang activity in Aurora is significantly down from 513 to 221 reported so far in 2024.
ROBBERIES
Robberies in Aurora in 2024 have also decreased by 11%. APD breaks down that data based upon where the robbery occurred. There have been 97 commercial robberies so far in 2024 compared to 143 reported in 2023, which is down 32%
Persons robbed on Aurora streets increased slightly from 221 to 229, an increase of 3.6% from 2023 across the city.
BURGLARY
Another significant drop in Aurora crime can be seen across burglary categories.
Overall, burglaries in Aurora have dropped by 25% this year compared to 2023.
APD reports 890 burglaries in 2024 compared to 1,192 reported last year. The 5-year average for burglaries by this time in the year is around 1,101 – which is above the 890 tracked this year.
Breaking down the burglary category, home and residential break-ins have also dropped by nearly 8%.
There have been 326 residential burglaries in 2024 compared to 354 at this same time in 2023.
A drop in commercial property break-ins is driving the lower overall burglary rate in Aurora. APD said there have been 326 commercial burglaries so far in 2024 which is down 33% from the 838 reported in 2023.
MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT
Colorado – a recent leader in motor vehicle theft – has seen decreases in this crime category the last couple of years. Aurora is following that trend.
Nearly 2,500 vehicles were reported stolen in Aurora – 2,455 to be exact – as of September 8, 2024. That number is down 31% from the 3,575 stolen vehicles reported in 2023.
LARCENY
The seventh major crime category – larceny – shows both an increase and decrease.
Overall, APD reports 4,649 cases of larceny so far in 2024, which is down 12% from 2023.
While larceny – or theft of personal property – from a motor vehicle dropped eight percent, there have been 218 more cases of larceny involving shoplifting in Aurora this year (1,325) compared to 2024 (1,107) – a 20% increase year-over-year.
Following Tuesday night's debate, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman sat down with Denver7 to address Trump's claims. "I think the impression nationally given the debate last night is that the buildings are still under the control and the city is too and neither is true," he said. "The overreaction has created a hysteria in terms of what is true, what is not true. I think its important to set the record straight."
On Wednesday, city officials in Aurora released a joint statement.
"As for the perception and reality of public safety in Aurora, please understand that issues experienced at a select few properties do not apply to the city as a whole or large portions of it," read a joint statement by Aurora's mayor, city manager, public safety chair and police department. "TdA has not 'taken over' the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true."
You can view the full APD crime stats document below.
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