As the 2022 General Assembly gets to work, members on both sides of the political aisle have identified some very similar priorities for the session: crime, cost of living, education, taxes and fees.

And, it’s no wonder. Inflation has hit a near-40-year high. Crime is rampant. Taxes and fees are breaking the backs of families and small businesses. Our children are suffering. The facts don’t lie: Colorado is at a crossroads, families are struggling and our quality of life is at risk.

Although both parties identified similar priorities, the solutions sometimes look very different. We simply cannot devolve into partisan bickering this year. We have to find common ground for the future and goodwill of our state. That’s where the facts come in. The solutions, just like the problems, can be found in the facts. 

Consider crime. It’s an issue at the top of the list for many Coloradans. According to a study released by the non-partisan Common Sense Institute (CSI) we are living in the midst of a crime wave. In fact, some news headlines have gone so far as to call this a “crime tsunami.” Colorado had the highest increase in its property crime rate between 2011 and 2020, among all states. Colorado’s violent crime rate in 2020 was 35% higher than 2011, and the 2020 murder rate was also 106% higher than in 2011. The rape rate was 9% higher, with assault up 40%. Even more staggering, Colorado ranks number one in the nation when it comes to auto theft.

These are facts – not rhetoric, not spin. These numbers are real, and they matter to the people of Colorado. These numbers represent a nurse whose car was stolen out of her driveway as she got ready to go to work, a small business owner who faces property loss, and a young woman brutalized on her way home. They represent our neighbors, our family and our friends.

Solving this issue is a top priority. It has to be.

We know victims pay the highest prices for crime, but according to CSI, the total cost of crime represents an average cost per Coloradan of $4,762 a year – a whopping $27 billion.

According to CSI, while the state correctional populations declined by 23%, crime started increasing by 47%. Since September of 2021, The Department of Correction population has declined 33%. To top it off, Colorado ranks in the top five in the nation for recidivism. In other words: there is more crime when more criminals are on the street.

The CSI study also found a correlation between rising crime rates and trends in bond practices. For instance, in 2020 there were 538 $1 bonds issued in Denver and in 2021 there were 562. Between 2017 and 2019, there were only two. 

So what’s the answer? 

Unfortunately, public safety will only get worse if we continue to let individuals who were arrested back out on the streets with either low or no bond. By condemning all law enforcement officers as bad cops, de-policing is rising and departments are having to back off of community patrols. A reduction in the number and activity of police officers results in more dangerous criminals on the streets who pose a dangerous threat to communities. As a result of this shocking reality, Colorado – especially the Denver metro area – is in a very different place in 2022, and not for the better.

As state legislators, some of this is out of our control. But the policies that were enacted here during the last three years have not helped. The current state of our state is not good. We are going to have to spend every day of this legislative session fighting to make it better for the people of Colorado. They deserve our best effort.

Many of my colleagues across the aisle want to address the root causes of crime from education to affordable housing. Yes, those are absolutely important issues to address, and we should. Providing a quality education is absolutely critical, but so is addressing crime. If kids and families aren’t safe, they can’t learn. We simply must address the growing crime wave as our number one priority.

Over the next five months, let’s consider the facts. They don’t lie. We need to fight for good, sound policies that impact the people behind the numbers: our fellow Coloradans. 

Hugh McKean, a Republican from Loveland, serves as the minority leader in the Colorado state House.