I’m an LEO in northern Colorado.
There is a veneer of truth to what you’ve read but it appears to be massively overstated based on your question.
There are gangs (Venezuelan and other) that do significant crime and can be dangerous. They haven’t “taken over” anything and cops aren’t scared to patrol. Some crime is up, and significantly so. Neither city is radically different than in the past. I wouldn’t call either city “unsafe”, with the same caveats I would apply to any large city.
Homelessness and transient behavior is probably the most visible problems … it’s gotten bad, particularly in Denver. Lots of reasons for the increase, none particularly unique to Denver/Aurora.
Thanks for the information. That is what I figured, not much different than any other year and it’s not a flood of immigration that is taking over.
Have the Venezuelan gangs always been there, or have you seen any change in their numbers in the last 3 or 4 years?
Why do you feel the crime rate is up?
Crime tends to be cyclical, so an uptick would be expected from a historical perspective. Another consideration is pure demographics … the area is growing significantly, cost of living is very high … factors like these tend to correlate with an increase in crime.
Also … and this is my opinion based on interactions with members of the criminal element … there is a sense of almost impunity currently coupled with a belief that there are few consequences for committing crime. One crime category that is significantly up is organized retail theft - groups (data shows it tends to be younger Hispanic males) walk into stores and steal a large amount of merchandise before fleeing. A typical loss amount for an incident is $5k. Store employees aren’t allowed to intervene beyond calling 911 (this is smart, these groups have been violent); PDs are understaffed and can’t respond in a timely manner (even a 5 minute delay means they get away); if PD arrives in time, the groups almost always flee in a car (frequently stolen; damn you Hyundai), and PD can’t pursue because it’s a low level property crime. The crooks get away (probably giggling as they watch the PD patrol cars turn off their lights and turn around). At some stores, this is an almost daily occurrence. Many of the gangs involved are Colombian, Guatemalan and Venezuelan. They sell the stolen merch on FB Marketplace and other online outlets. They also sell at the Aurora fleamarket, where you can find great deals but if the bottle of perfume is new in the box rest assured that it is stolen. But … how do you prove it?
Similarly, hard drugs have largely been relegated to low level non-arrestable offenses; a cop catches someone smoking meth, you write them a summons. They fail to appear in court, a personal recognizance warrant is issued. The person is arrested on the warrant and goes to jail, signs a promise to appear in court and is released (usually within a few hours). Fails to appear; another warrant is issued. And the cycle continues.
Venezuelan gangs have been present for several years. We are seeing more of them. I wouldn’t say the numbers are particularly large, certainly less than homegrown Hispanic gangs such as Nortenos and Surenos. There’s nothing unique about the Venezuelan gangs as far as how they operate or relative levels of violence.
Thank for the information. Sounds like these young kids stealing is just a price of business for some of these retail stores in the area. Not much can really be done about it so just deduct it and make insurance claims. Or do you think there is any other way to handle it that could stop it from happening? If these kids don’t steal they probably don’t eat.
They won’t “deduct it”. The lost costs will be baked into markups. IOW, prices will go up
Yes, this. Cost of doing business. I was at the local mall working a sex crime at Victoria’s Secret yesterday and the manager of Sunglass Hut wanted to chat. She said a few times per day, a thief will come in and blatantly steal a few pairs of sunglasses (Prada are the most common brand stolen at the moment) and the company does nothing about it. They don’t even report it. She said it’s built into the margin for the sunglasses which, in her words, “cost next to nothing” to make and sell for $300-500/pair for the the Prada shades. They won’t even let her put the most expensive glasses behind a counter to lower instances of theft because of the negative impact it will have on sales. She was frustrated with it.
She said she had gotten very good at identifying thieves; they have a look. They come in and go directly to the Prada display, make no eye contact with staff, grab whatever they can, and fast walk out of the store into the mall proper. Almost all of the thieves are young Hispanic males dressed in baggie clothes, almost always with white sneakers (which I thought was an oddly specific description).