**Headline: Report Shows Declining Crime in Major Colorado Cities, But Colorado Springs Bucks Trend with 12.2% Increase**

**COLORADO SPRINGS, CO** – A recent report from the Common Sense Institute analyzing crime data since 2022 indicates that violent crime has decreased in most of Colorado’s largest cities, but the findings have been met with significant public debate and show a concerning opposite trend for Colorado Springs. While cities like Aurora have seen a steep decline, Colorado Springs experienced a notable increase in its violent crime rate over the same period.

The report highlights a significant statewide shift, with some metropolitan areas showing marked improvements in public safety statistics. Aurora recorded the most substantial drop, with its violent crime rate falling by 36.25% since 2022. This figure is part of a broader trend suggesting a decrease in violent crime across many of the state’s urban centers.

However, the data reveals a different story for El Paso County’s largest city. In direct contrast to the statewide trend, Colorado Springs saw its violent crime rate increase by 12.2%. This local data point sets the city apart from its peers and raises questions about the specific factors contributing to the rise.

The report’s conclusions have sparked a robust conversation among Colorado residents online, with many expressing skepticism about the statistics. Readers questioned the validity of the data and the methods behind its collection.

“Crime isn’t down,” one reader commented. “Reporting is down and the keeping of statistics has changed. They can make the numbers show anything they want the numbers to show.”

Another commenter pointed to potential discrepancies in law enforcement practices, asking, “Actual crime, or the way police choose to respond (or not) or how they add it to different crime reports?”

Others suggested that policy changes and the judicial process could be skewing the numbers. “Decriminalize everything and there is no crime! Also the garbage plea deals the DAs hand out skew the numbers,” a user wrote, adding, “Crime is horrible in Colorado.”

The debate underscores a disconnect between the official data presented in the report and the lived experiences of some community members, who remain unconvinced that crime is genuinely decreasing.