Fort Collins Might Not be as Safe as You Think
How safe is living in Fort Collins, Colorado?
Why do you live in Fort Collins? The scenic views? The 300+ days of sun? The beer? You’re probably not thinking about any concern for your safety.
In fact, the overall crime rate in Fort Collins is 6% lower than the national average. That probably explains why in 2016, FoCo even ranked 4th for Happiest City in America and 16th for Best Place to Live in 2017. Disneyland even built a street modeled after us.
For me and many others when considering whether or not to move to Colorado, in general, its claims of safety were extremely appealing.
But according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, crime rate in Colorado is increasing much faster than the rest of the country. In 2016, the Colorado crime rate per 100,000 people increased by 3.4 percent.
According to the 2016 Crime in Colorado Report, the number of homicides, rapes, and motor vehicle thefts are at an all-time high.
But what about Fort Collins? Well, let’s talk locally.
Between January 1, 2018 and February 1, 2018, there were 251 violent crimes, 615 property crimes, and 1098 disorderly crimes reported via the Fort Collins Police Department.
From February 2017 to February 2018, there were a total of 20 shootings, 18 stabbings, 5 kidnappings, and 3 bomb threats.
“ Among roughly 200 cities across the country with populations between 100,000 and 250,000, Fort Collins’ violent crime rate in 2014 ranked in the top 25 percent.” — The Coloradoan
Maybe Fort Collins’ image of safety isn’t reality.
The chance of becoming a victim of violent or property crime in Fort Collins is 1 in 35. Compared to to rest of the state, our crime rate is higher than 76% of Colorado’s cities and towns. Even suicide rates are at an all-time high in Larimer County.
Perhaps it’s less about the number of crimes, and more about the types of crimes, as well as the impact they have on our community.
You might recall the death of Colorado State University student Savannah McNealy in October 2017. The shooting, which killed three and injured one, occurred a few blocks from CSU’s campus. This one literally hit home: it happened just a quick walk from my apartment.
A recent shooting and a homicide both happened within a 10 minute drive from my apartment.
The close proximity of these crimes to my own home are enough to put me and my roommates in a state of unease. Even if these events didn’t happen as close to me as they did, I would still be more concerned for my safety than I thought I would be when I moved to Fort Collins.
If you ask someone who has called FoCo home for many years, they’re likely to talk about how much safer they felt in the past than they do now. And they have a point.
Just take a look at a few of the things that happened in Fort Collins in the month of January alone:
- Missing Fort Collins, woman found dead in Lory State Park, death determined by homicide
- Larimer County Sheriff’s Office investigates shooting involving three men
- Fort Collins Police arrest suspect for murder of Kimberlee Graves
- Fort Collins Police Department investigating hate crime after savage beating of gay man
What’s going on in Fort Collins? From hate crimes to gun violence to homicides, it seems like the crimes just keep coming.
Maybe it’s just a matter of a growing city. After all, Fort Collins is safer than 45% of cities in the United States. But do stats really matter when violence hits so close to home?
We saw the impact the death of one of CSU’s own had on both the university and the Fort Collin’s community. It serves as just one example of the unfortunate conclusion that we must come to: it can happen to anyone.
No matter how safe you think you are here in Fort Collins, there’s always crime happening just around the corner…or maybe even in your own backyard.