Homicides in Denver in the first six months of 2021 have outpaced the same time frame in 2020, on track for a multi-year record for homicides.

According to the Denver Police Department’s open data portal, the city recorded 44 homicides in 2021 as of Wednesday, compared with 39 in the same period last year. The 95 homicides reported by police in 2020 represented about a 50% increase over 2019.

The city’s recent spike in homicides mirrors increases in non-fatal shootings. When city officials in late May announced a new strategy for policing in crime-ridden areas where crime is most prevalent, they said shootings had increased 62.8% over Denver’s three-year average. 

Violent crimes in general have increased this year as well: According to police data, officers had recorded 1,852 incidents as of Wednesday, including homicides. The police department includes aggravated assault, sexual assault and murder in its violent crime statistics.

Over the same period in 2020, the police department had recorded 1619 violent crime incidents.

Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen told The Denver Gazette he believes stress and anxiety brought on by a confluence of circumstances last year drove violence. Issues faced by Denver residents included economic uncertainty tied to the pandemic and protests against police tied to the Minnesota killing of George Floyd.

The chief also cited an increased number of illegal guns on the streets as a factor in growing violence in the city.

Denver’s sustained growth in shootings and homicides is similar to spikes in other cities large and small, according to reporting by The Washington Post. The policy implications have divided activists and lawmakers, but crime analyst Jeff Asher said he has not seen a link between homicide increases and police funding.

At the end of May, Mayor Michael Hancock announced a plan for “collaborative policing” targeting areas of Denver where violent crime is concentrated: South Federal Boulevard and West Alameda Avenue, Colfax Avenue and Broadway, East Colfax Avenue and North Yosemite Street, East 47th Avenue and North Peoria Street, and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and North Holly Street.

Denver begins collaborative policing strategy targeting most violent areas in city

Officials said those areas accounted for 49% of the city’s nonfatal shootings and about 26% of homicides and aggravated assaults in 2020.

To reverse the trend, Pazen said he wants to build relationships with community members, businesses, nonprofits and mental health professionals to deliver services needed by residents. The collaborative policing strategy aims to prevent crime in the areas, instead of only responding to it, he said.

Officials said police have tracked the times and days when violent crimes most often occur in those neighborhoods and plan to put more officers on the street at peak times in a bid to deter crimes.