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Miami Herald
06-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Denver neighborhood crime doesn't always match city trends. Here's why
DENVER - Denver officials have heralded successful efforts to reduce homicides and gun violence in the city, but some Denver neighborhoods have higher rates of property and violent crime than the citywide average. Denver's crime statistics paint a nuanced picture of how public safety can change between neighborhoods and experts say there's no one answer for why crime increases in some areas and not others - which means there's also not a single solution to the problem. "Denver has grown tremendously in the last 20 years," said Stacey Hervey, an affiliate professor of criminal justice and criminology at Metropolitan State University of Denver. "Any time you add more homes, you'll see more crimes – and you're also seeing an increase in opportunity." Denver Police Department data break down incidents by neighborhood and type of crime, ranging from murder to public disorder. Citywide, most violent crimes like sexual assault and murder decreased, leading to 91 fewer violent crimes in 2024 compared to 2023 for a total of 6,261. But those trends don't necessarily translate to every neighborhood. For example, while Denverites reported fewer aggravated assaults last year in the city overall, folks in neighborhoods like Barnum and Cherry Creek saw the opposite trend. Assaults tripled in Cherry Creek, from nine in 2023 to 27 in 2024 and increased by almost 30% in Barnum, from 43 to 57, according to the Denver Police Department's crime dashboard. Property crimes in Denver followed a similar trend from 2023 to 2024, police data shows. While those crimes decreased by 17% citywide, the number and types of property crimes that were reported fluctuated widely - people stealing from cars dropped by 33%, but other thefts increased by 10%. The different neighborhood trends in violent crimes also extend to property crimes - like the number of burglaries staying relatively flat citywide but increasing by 38% in Capitol Hill, from 110 in 2023 to 152 in 2024. An increase in property crime doesn't necessarily mean more violent crime will follow, Hervey said, because they're often committed by different types of people. "A lot of our violent crime rates are driven by gangs or young people, and they don't traditionally do property crimes, which are often crimes of opportunity," she said, like porch pirates or people stealing and pawning bicycles for quick cash. There are plenty of theories about what influences crime rates, said Beverly Kingston, director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado, Boulder. One theory Kingston has studied in Denver neighborhoods is social disorganization theory, which suggests that community factors other than individual behavior contribute to crime. In a 2009 study, Kingston and two colleagues found the biggest factors that can predict criminal behavior in young Denverites were objective poverty and the belief that they had limited opportunities for the future. Those factors can look like children and teenagers not having access to a high-quality education or extracurricular activities like summer camps. "The kids are oftentimes not getting those developmental needs met by virtue of where they live and the resources that they have," Kingston said. For DPD Commander Brad Qualley and Sgt. Brian Husum, figuring out what's causing spikes in neighborhood crime is less an academic exercise and more a regular part of the job. Qualley oversees the District 4 precinct, which includes most of the city west of the South Platte River and south of West Sixth Avenue. "For the most part, that district is primarily a working-class community with hardworking folks," Husum said. DPD officials often look at increases in 911 calls and crime data over the previous month to pinpoint areas of concern, Qualley said. "I do think some of the trends or increases end up being area-specific and they're usually short-lived because we're able to identify who is responsible for that or they've moved on," he said. "When they're not short-lived, we start really focusing efforts on why that's happening in a specific area." Some of those are "comfort areas," Husum said - places like a home, apartment building or bus stop where people feel comfortable with criminal activity. Police also look for "corrupting locations," or places where there's a lot of crime, and try to determine what is allowing criminal behavior to flourish. In one case, Husum's team began investigating why stolen cars were repeatedly showing up at a bar near South Raritan Street and West Mississippi Avenue. Police found that the bar owner was allowing drug and gun sales in the bar and arrested the people involved. A judge later ordered the bar closed, and crime dropped in the Athmar Park neighborhood as a result, Husum said. Department data show violent crime in Athmar Park is down 36% this year compared to the same time in 2024. The entire operation took about 18 months. "It's not just finding and arresting criminals," Husum said. "It's changing the environment." For Kingston, the good news is that research shows that crime is not an inevitable reality in Denver. "Protective factors" like strong relationships with adults who care, connecting at school and having positive friends and hobbies or interests they're passionate about and supported in are all linked to reduced crime rates. "We know without a doubt that crime can be prevented," she said. "Crime isn't so random. There are reasons why it happens and we can do a lot to work upstream to prevent crime and intervene in the lives of people who are struggling and hurting and give them the support they need." Another comfort area was a large apartment complex in the 200 block of South Federal Boulevard that started seeing a high number of 911 calls, Qualley said. Qualley and other District 4 officers started working on outreach with building managers, though it was hard to get a foothold at first because management kept changing. Eventually, the precinct was able to have regular meetings about how the department could help, whether through targeted enforcement or providing mental health or narcotics resources. "I understand that there is frustration out there with residents, so I always ask them to actively get involved and ask them to come to the commanders' advisory board we have monthly," Qualley said. "It's good to have that face-to-face." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 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First Post
12-06-2025
- Business
- First Post
China plans to choke Western militaries with 100% control of this rare earth
China controls the world's entire supply of samarium, a rare earth mineral used almost entirely by the military industry and required to make fighter planes, missiles, smart bombs, and other advanced platforms. With the halt in samarium exports, China is choking Western militaries. read more An F-35 fighter jet on the deck of the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington. (Photo: AP) Even as China controls most of the world's rare earths, there is one mineral whose supply it controls completely. The rare earth mineral, samarium, is used almost entirely by the military industry and is required to make fighter planes, missiles, smart bombs, and other advanced platforms. The centrality is such that planes like F-35 cannot be made without samarium magnets. China banned the export of samarium and six other rare earths in April amid the ongoing trade war with the United States. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Out of these seven rare earths, the demand of six —dysprosium, gadolinium, lutetium, scandium, terbium, and yttrium— is largely civilian, but samarium is used 'almost exclusively used for military purposes', Stanley Trout, a metallurgist at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, told The New York Times. China can choke Western militaries with samarium supply ban With a halt in the supply of samarium, China can essentially choke Western militaries by essentially blocking deliveries of new platforms and affecting the repair, maintenance, and upgradation of existing platforms. It appears that the plan is already in motion. Even as China has started granting licences for some other rare earths, such as dysprosium and terbium, licences have not been granted for samarium, according to The Times. William Bain, the head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, noted that the continued halt of samarium supplies would bring the production of planes like F-35 to a halt. For context, F-35 needs up to 50 pounds of samarium magnets and its maker, Lockheed Martin, is the main customer of samarium in the United States. 'We've seen some relaxation over the weekend with licenses granted in sectors connected with robotics and electric vehicles, but if you take, for example, a critical mineral like samarium, within magnets, that's absolutely essential for F-35 fighter jet construction in the US. They can't make them without that. And not having access to that is severely affecting both US construction in that area, but also perhaps its national security if that remains in place,' Bain told CNBC. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Samarium chokehold gives China edge There is evidence that samarium and other rare earths have given China edge in ongoing trade negotiations with the United States. After focus of the talks shifted from tariffs to rare earths, China appears to have secured concessions from the United States regarding Chinese access to critical Western technologies in return of relaxation on Chinese supply of rare earths. Western companies and the US Department of Defense keep samarium reserves that would only last for months. In the absence of new supplies, reserves are expected to get depleted soon. Such a disruption has come at a time when the United States and others in the West are replenishing their arsenals after stocks' depletion because of supplies of Ukraine and Israel.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
19-year-old MSU graduate pursuing career as air traffic controller
DENVER (KDVR) — Graduating from college is a massive accomplishment and a stepping stone in the lives of young academics everywhere. In most cases, it is usually one of the first steps for 20-somethings in starting their careers and entering a new stage of independence, but for one graduate from Metropolitan State University of Denver, that day came when she was only 19, a year removed from when her peers would be graduating from high school. Actor on 'Ted Lasso' reacts to the Denver Broncos in London For Adelaide Britton, her path to quick graduation and the pursuit of her ideal career was the one she had always dreamt about. While she endured the pressure of college swimmingly, she faces a new form of pressure and begins her life in a field that has come under heavy scrutiny lately. Britton is on the path to become an air traffic controller. To get a head start on her plans, she leaned heavily into concurrent enrollment classes while she was in high school, which allowed her to build up an arsenal of credits that she used to transfer to MSU upon graduation. To fast-track her progress even further, Britton said she attended summer school and had a semester where she took 18 credit hours, all while working two jobs at Urban Outfitters and a restaurant near Union Station. That type of workload would put most people in a rut, but she said that because all of her classes revolved around aviation, none of the homework felt like homework. It was just her immersing herself into something she was really interested in. Her interest piqued when she was a junior in high school and had to research a career. Her mother suggested that she look into air traffic control, and from that moment, Britton has never looked back. She recently applied for an air traffic controller position in the spring and received a 'Well Qualified' result on the Air Traffic Skills Assessment, and in return, received a tentative offer letter from the Air Traffic Organization. From here, the next step would be to enter the Federal Aviation Administration's training academy. All of that work sounds rigorous, but the biggest challenge may be after her hiring, as the air traffic control field is enduring plenty of issues and criticism. High-profile aviation crashes have thrust the issues into the eyes of the public, and according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there is a shortage of air traffic controllers amid a natural decline in the position and a large number of layoffs. The department is working on rapidly increasing the population of the workforce and upgrading outdated technology used by air traffic controllers to bring it to a more modern standard. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Air Traffic Controllers Association are offering limited-time incentives for hiring, including: $5,000 award for academy graduates who successfully completed the initial qualification training $5,000 award for new hires who successfully complete the initial qualification training $10,000 award for academy graduates who are assigned to one of 13 hard-to-staff air traffic facilities Certified professional controllers eligible to retire but under the mandatory retirement age (56) will receive a lump sum payment of 20% of their basic pay for each year they continue to work Is it legal to put furniture on the curb for people to pick up in Denver? Britton is facing another challenging obstacle in her journey, but with a steady head on her shoulders, she offers advice to any students following a similar path. 'It's not for everyone,' said Britton on the MSU website. 'Know yourself. Follow the best course of action for you.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
09-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Auraria Campus Police violated First Amendment rights during Denver protest arrest, claims new lawsuit
Eight Coloradans, including a college professor, are suing the Auraria Campus police chief and several officers almost a year after they were arrested during campus protests over the war in Gaza . In the spring of 2024, protestors descended upon campuses across the country and the world, including the Auraria Campus in Denver , which houses campuses for the University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State University of Denver. They set up an encampment on the Tivoli quad, which violates campus policy. On April 26, Auraria Campus Police started arresting people for trespassing. Alex Boodrookas is an assistant professor of history at MSU Denver. He says he was leaving a meeting when he saw the scene unfolding. He says he sat with the students to try to deescalate the situation but was arrested. CU Boulder alumni Sarah Napier was also arrested. She says she was protesting but not camping. They're two of eight people now suing Auraria Police Chief Jason Mollendor and six other officers, with the help of lawyers from Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC, accusing the officers of violating their First Amendment rights. "You should be able to peacefully protest," Napier told CBS News Colorado. You should be able to, you know, have your First Amendment rights." They say that Auraria police didn't adequately warn protestors that they would be arresting anyone and, even if they did, their arrests were unjustified because they weren't camping. They allege the arrests were an attempt to silence voices campus officials didn't like. "The mass arrests that we saw at the encampments last year, like they very much laid the groundwork for what we're seeing today," Boodrookas said. Both Boodrookas and Napier ultimately had their charges dismissed and their records sealed, but they say the damage was done. They've both faced professional repercussions, but they say this lawsuit isn't about them; it's about making sure free speech is protected. "I want to make sure that armed riot police don't arrest peaceful student demonstrators on my campus again," Boodrookas said. On Wednesday, the Auraria Campus released the following statement: "The Auraria campus has not been served with any civil rights lawsuit related to the events of April 26, 2024. Based on available media reports, it appears that the individuals involved chose to engage with the press prior to notifying either the Auraria Campus administration or the Auraria Campus Police Department. We are also aware of several misrepresentations reported in today's media coverage. As with any legal matter, Auraria Campus remains committed to following the appropriate legal processes and protocols. We will be prepared to respond accordingly if and when we are served. Our priority continues to be transparency, accountability, and the safety and well-being of the Auraria Campus community." The lawsuit was filed at 9 a.m. on Wednesday in Denver District Court and asks for a jury trial, as well as punitive, compensatory, and economic damages. "Rather than respecting the constitutional rights of those gathered, Auraria Campus Police Department officers abrogated well-established First Amendment rights through intimidation and mass arrests," it states, in part. "Protesters who peacefully linked arms in solidarity were trapped and encircled by riot police, physically prevented from leaving before officers began making arrests." "If we fail to challenge this now, we risk normalizing the suppression of speech whenever it becomes inconvenient," Azra Taslimi, one of the attorneys representing the protesters, said at a news conference on Wednesday. "Student protest is not a disruption of education, it is a reflection of it. It is civic engagement, it is democracy in action, and it is why we must protect it."
