Denver Police Department Announces Substantial Decline in Homicides

Denver Police Department Announces Substantial Decline in Homicides

Published on January 02, 2026

January 2, 2026 - The Denver Police Department announces Denver had 48% fewer homicides in 2025 than in 2024, and a 54% reduction compared to the prior three-year average. With 37 homicides in Denver in 2025, compared to 70 in 2024, Denver Police attribute this significant decrease, in part, to several efforts made by the department and partners. These efforts include focused, holistic efforts in identified high crime areas, removing firearms from the streets, the utilization of technology, focused policing, and top-notch investigations.

"I am extremely proud of our patrol officers, investigators, and those whose ongoing efforts directly impacted the decrease in violent crime. We cannot do this without them and all our city and community partners," said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas. "Making Denver safer continues to be the goal of the Denver Police Department, and while homicides and other notable crime categories are seeing strong declines, we still have work to do."

When considering population growth, 2025 saw the second lowest homicide rate going back to 1990.

"Denverites deserve to live in the safest city in the country," said Mayor Mike Johnston. "I'm proud of Denver Police for investing time and resources into proven, data-driven strategies that protect residents and that address crime while building community, and I look forward to continuing to break down barriers and build onto this success in 2026."

Downtown Action Plan

As announced in January of 2024, working with the Downtown Denver Partnership, Denver supplemented efforts in downtown to include an enhanced reporting system and increase security as part of Mayor Mike Johnston's Clean and Safe downtown initiative. Then in March 2025 as part of Mayor Johnston's Downtown Safety Action Plan, DPD dedicated the mounted patrol to the area, added a satellite police kiosk, created extra foot patrols and increased motorcycle and E-bike patrols. Also, DPD continues to focus and bolster efforts in the lower downtown area during bar let out.

Place Network Investigations

A key approach is the implementation of the Place Network Investigations (PNI) strategy that focuses on identifying and investigating areas where violent crime has been persistent and works to dismantle criminal activity and networks. In 2025, there were zero firearm homicides or non-fatal shootings in four of the seven identified PNI locations.

Through collaboration with community and city partners, DPD and partner agencies go into the identified areas to make contacts with businesses and residents to evaluate specific areas of concerns and together identify tangible efforts to reduce the criminal activity. When a "corrupting location" (a place contributing to criminal activity) is identified, DPD partners with the City Attorney's Office, Denver Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, and Denver District Attorney's Office to address the issues through potential licensing actions, civil public nuisance abatement cases, and criminal charges.

Other work in PNI locations include providing resources for residents and businesses, increasing lighting, reopening shuttered businesses, enhancing police visibility, and creating connections with support organizations. One example of the community outreach and education component of DPD's PNI efforts is the free lightbulb giveaway event featured in this video. Another example of PNI efforts is the human trafficking enforcement and outreach operation featured in this video.

Highly Effective Investigations

By quickly and effectively investigating homicides and shootings to arrest offenders, those who commit violence are behind bars where they can't cause more harm in our community. DPD's Major Crimes Division focuses on the most serious crimes and employs the best investigative practices. In 2025, DPD homicide detectives achieved an 81% clearance rate. The average national homicide clearance rate in 2024 was 61%. Additionally, the Firearms Assault Shoot Team (FAST), who strictly investigate non-fatal shootings and employ the same investigative strategies as the Homicide Unit, achieved a 67% clearance rate, while also resolving another 5% of reported shooting cases as unfounded, self-inflicted, accidental, or the injuries were determined to be caused by means other than a firearm. In 2025, non-fatal shootings decreased by 33.5%, equating to 71 fewer shooting victims, compared to 2024.

Technology

The Denver Police Department is utilizing technology to deter crime and provide evidence that helps to identify offenders and solve cases. DPD's Real Time Crime Center utilizes HALO cameras and the Drone as First Responder pilot program to help quickly locate suspects, capture video evidence, and provide critical information to responding officers. Through August 12, 2025, the city's Automated License Plate Reader network assisted with 352 arrests, the recovery of 251 vehicles and 39 firearms recovered. The ALPR system was instrumental in the investigation of two homicide cases, numerous nonfatal shootings, armed robberies, and hit-and-run cases.

Gun Safety

Through education and enforcement, DPD works to ensure gun owners are safely storing their firearms so that the gun does not fall into the wrong hands. In early 2025, state law went into effect that requires gun owners to safely secure their firearms in their vehicles. Additionally, DPD continues to remove illegal guns from Denver's streets. During 2025, DPD officers recovered 1,885 firearms for the purpose of case evidence. This equates to approximately five guns removed from our streets each day by DPD officers - and 1,885 fewer guns that could potentially be used in the commission of a crime.

Homicide Causal Factors

Throughout 2025, the most common causal factor that led up to a homicide were arguments and confrontations. DPD investigators have evidence that of the 37 homicides in 2025, 21 were the result of an argument or confrontation that escalated to lethal violence. Domestic violence was the second most prevalent causal factor in 2025, resulting in four homicides. This was a decrease from 12 domestic violence homicides in 2024.

Denver achieved significant crime reductions in numerous categories in 2025 compared to 2024, including:

*All as of 12/29/25 at 10:00 p.m.

The following table includes annual homicide totals from 1990 through 2025:

• Police Department