Neighborhood, University of Denver

Crime on the Decline in the University of Denver Neighborhood

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According to published 2023 police reports, crime dropped significantly in the consolidated University and University Park neighborhoods. The trend shows double-digit drops in most types of crime including key areas like property crimes, robberies and car thefts.

The consolidated University/University Park neighborhood features I-25 to the north, Colorado Boulevard to the east, Yale to the south and Downing to the west.

We consolidated the two neighborhoods of University and University Park to get a comprehensive view of 2023 crime. There were 688 property crimes (down 17.5%), 91 burglaries (N/C), 171 car thefts (down 25.7%), 46 violent crimes (-24.6). Regarding lesser reported crimes, sexual assault was unchanged (10 v 10) and domestic violence decreased (19 v 29, -34.5%) along with one homicide. There were 13 bike thefts reported (down 27.8) and 19 drug arrests (down 55.8%).

In the context of the entire City and County of Denver, Crime is dropping across the area, post-pandemic. Most notable are the reduction in property crimes (-9.1%) and the decline of auto thefts (-19.0%). Vehicle theft in the City of Denver has been a particularly large problem over the past several years.

For 2023, these were the most stolen vehicles. Ninety percent of the vehicles were recovered.

1. Hyundai Elantra (1,324)

2. Chevrolet Silverado (1,281)

3. Hyundai Sonata (1,035)

4. Ford F-150 (1,013)

5. Kia Sportage (974)

6. Ford F-250 (808)

7. Kia Optima (783)

8. Hyundai Tucson (750)

9. Honda Civic (685)

10. Kia Soul (648)

How did the consolidated University/University Park neighborhoods fare vs. other Denver neighborhoods? Crime reports identify 78 neighborhoods in the City of Denver. The consolidated university neighborhoods rank showed greater improvement in relative rank than other Denver City neighborhoods in 6 out of 9 key categories during the year when considering crime scores. Only in robberies 37th/78) and bike thefts (31st/78) did University/University Park fall below the average.

As for local crime, One Observatory Park, University House and several other apartment complexes were hot spots for reported crime along with the RTD Train Station (featured Photo)  and McDonald’s at Colorado & Evans. DU’s Centennial Towers dorm had eight reported crimes this past year.

The overall crime trends are positive for both the City of Denver and residents around the University of Denver. This is a welcome relief after several years of escalating crime.

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