Dec 15, 2021 - News

Perspectives on rising crime

John Frank

Illustrated collage of a person’s silhouette with an ambulance and caution tape. — Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

Three decades after Denver's "summer of violence" Colorado is "still feeling the legal and human consequences born from that fear-stoked" period, writes LynNell Hancock.

Driving the news: In a recent piece for the New Republic magazine, the Columbia Journalism School professor emerita recounts how news outlets drove the frenzy and notes the recent efforts at the state Legislature to undo laws from that era.

What to know: Hancock also draws a parallel to the present day, making her piece a cautionary tale.

"The recent uptick in violent crime has already nudged some media into a more familiar stance," she writes.

The other side: Former district attorney and Republican attorney general candidate George Brauchler wonders: "Are we living in Crimerado?"

In an opinion column for the Denver Post published online Monday, he writes about a recent study he helped conduct that focuses on the increase in property and violent crime in 2021.

What he's saying: Brauchler argues the policies prioritizing rehabilitation of criminal offenders in Colorado have failed and merely put more criminals out on the street.

He says it's not a coincidence that crime is up at the same time.

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Perspectives on rising crime

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