Crime & Justice in Colorado / 2009-2019 Oce of Research and Statistics Division of Criminal Justice Colorado Department of Public Safety Crime & Justice in Colorado / 2009-2019 November 2020 Prepared by: Office of Research and Statistics Damien Angel, Report Project Manager Kim English, Research Director Peg Flick, Senior Statistical Analyst Linda Harrison, Senior Statistical Analyst Keith Hodson, Statistical Analyst Laurence Lucero, Analyst Jack Reed, Senior Statistical Analyst Allison Rosenthal, Statistical Analyst Stephane Waisanen, Analyst Division of Criminal Justice Joe Thome, Director Colorado Department of Public Safety Stan Hilkey, Executive Director Office of Research and Statistics Division of Criminal Justice 700 Kipling Street, Suite 1000 Denver, CO 80215 https://ors.colorado.gov/ Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not represent the official position or policies of the State of Colorado. i Crime & Justice in Colorado / 2009-2019 Acknowledgements November 2020 We would like to thank the many researchers who contributed to this report. Without the data provided, analyzed, and published by criminal justice researchers across the state and nation, this report would not be possible. In particular, we are grateful for the work of our colleagues at the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the U. S. Department of Justice. Also we are especially grateful to staff from the following Colorado agencies: the Colorado Judicial Branch; the Division of Youth Services (DYS); the Department of Corrections (DOC); the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI); the Colorado Integrated Criminal Justice Information System (CICJIS); the Office of Adult and Juvenile Justice (OAJJA), Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ); the Office of Community Corrections, Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ); and the State Demography Office. We would like to thank our Division Director, Joe Thome, for his ongoing support of our work. We are also very grateful for the support of the Executive Director of the Department of Public Safety, Stan Hilkey. Despite all the assistance and support we have received, we alone are responsible for this report and any omission and errors that remain. Office of Research and Statistics Division of Criminal Justice Colorado Department of Public Safety ii Crime & Justice in Colorado / 2009-2019 Table of contents Section 1: Colorado’s Department of Corrections 49 Introduction 1 Incarceration rates 53 Colorado vs. nationwide demographics 2 Average length of time in prison 54 Prison population trends and forecasts 56 Section 2: The criminal event 5 What is a crime? 6 Section 4: Juveniles in the juvenile justice system 60 How are crimes classified for legal and Juvenile justice filtering process 61 reporting purposes? 6 Cases processed through Colorado’s Crime reporting data sources 6 juvenile justice system 62 Reporting rates 8 Overview of the juvenile justice system 63 What are clearance rates? 9 Juvenile arrests 69 Cleared by exceptional means 10 Juvenile violent vs. property crime arrests 70 How have crime rates changed in the Status offenses 72 past ten years? 10 Who gets arrested? 73 Section 3: Diversion 75 Adults in the criminal justice system 15 Who is prosecuted? 77 Crime funnel 16 Cases filed in adult criminal court involving Cases processed through Colorado’s defendants under the age of 18 years 79 adult criminal justice system 17 How are juvenile cases disposed? 82 Overview of the justice system 18 Who is adjudicated? 84 Adult violent vs. property arrests 24 Were they found guilty of their Who gets arrested? 25 original charges? 85 Overview of prosecution 27 Juvenile placements 88 Colorado case filings 28 Where do they go once adjudicated? 90 Who is prosecuted? 33 Characteristics of who goes where 91 Who is found guilty? 35 Juvenile probation in Colorado 93 Were they convicted as charged? 36 Colorado Division of Youth Services (DYS) 94 Where do they go once convicted? 39 Detention 95 Who goes where? 40 Commitment 97 Colorado correctional figures 41 Commitment discharge 99 Probation in Colorado 42 Community corrections 45 iii Crime & Justice in Colorado / 2009-2019 Section 5: Section 6: Recidivism 102 Special features 112 Defining recidivism in Colorado 103 Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice 113 Recidivism of probation terminations in FY 2019 104 Substance use disorders and the paucity of treatment services in Colorado 115 Recidivism of juveniles committed to the Division of Youth Services 107 Racial/ethnic disparities in the justice system 120 Recidivism of Community Corrections Guiding principles of evidence based participants 109 correctional practices 124 Three year return-to-prison rates of inmates released from the Department Section 7: of Corrections in 2015 111 Appendix 128 iv Crime & Justice in Colorado / 2009-2019 Figures Section 1: Section 3: Introduction Adults in the criminal justice system 1.1 Race: Colorado and nationwide, 2018 2 3.1 The adult crime funnel, 2019 16 1.2 Juvenile population (0-17 years old) by race: 3.2 Adult criminal justice system flowchart 17 Colorado and nationwide, 2019 2 3.3 Colorado adult violent and property 1.3 Ethnicity: Colorado and nationwide, 2018 3 crime arrest rates, 2009-2018 24 1.4 Juvenile population (0-17 years old) by 3.4 Colorado adult violent crime arrest rates, ethnicity: Colorado and nationwide, 2019 3 2009-2018 24 1.5 Age: Colorado and nationwide, 2018 3 3.5 Colorado adult property crime arrest rates, 2009-2018 24 1.6 Educational attainment: Colorado and nationwide, 2018 4 3.6 Gender: Colorado adults arrested, 2018 (N=201,355) 25 1.7 Unemployment rates: Colorado and nationwide, 2014-2018 4 3.7 Race/ethnicity: Colorado adults arrested, 2018 (N=201,355) 25 Section 2: 3.8 Age: Colorado adults arrested, 2018 The criminal event (N=201,355) 25 2.1 Number of law enforcement agencies 3.9 Judicial Districts of Colorado 28 submitting UCR vs. NIBRS accepted 3.10 Colorado district court filings, FY 2019 30 reports, Colorado, 1997-2019 7 3.11 Colorado county court filings, FY 2019 31 2.2 Differences in violent crime reporting 3.12 Gender: Colorado criminal cases closed by statistic, United States, 2019 9 in 2019 (N=52,840) 33 2.3 Colorado’s violent & property crime rates 3.13 Race: Colorado criminal cases closed per 100,000 residents, 1960-2019 11 in 2019 (N=52,937) 33 2.4 Rape Offenses by Definition in Colorado, 3.14 Age group: Colorado criminal cases closed 2010-2019 12 in 2019 (N=52,903) 33 2.5 Non-consensual Sexual Offenses in 3.15 Age group and gender: Colorado district Colorado per 100,000 Residents, 2010-2019 13 court criminal cases closed in 2019 2.6 Aggravated Assaults in Colorado per (N=52,829) 34 100,000 Residents, 2010-2019 13 3.16 Gender, Colorado criminal case convictions 2.7 Robbery offenses in Colorado per in 2019 (N=42,623) 35 100,000 Residents, 2010-2019 13 3.17 Race and ethnicity: Colorado criminal case 2.8 Burglary offenses in Colorado per convictions in 2019 (N=42,623) 35 100,000 Residents, 2010-2019 14 3.18 Age: Colorado criminal case convictions 2.9 Number of motor vehicle theft offenses in 2019 (N=42,606) 35 in Colorado, 2010-2019 14 3.19 Gender and placement: Colorado criminal cases closed in 2019 (N=42,437) 40 3.20 Prisoner custody classifications, June 30, 2019 49 v Crime & Justice in Colorado / 2009-2019 3.21 Colorado incarceration rates, 4.15 Charge level for which youth were referred FY 2009 to FY 2018 53 to juvenile diversion, FY 2020 (N=1,699) 76 3.22 Average months spent in prison by most 4.16 Discharge status: Colorado juvenile serious conviction crime category: FY 2019 diversion participants, FY 2020 (N=1,699) 76 releases (N=7,830) 54 4.17 Colorado juvenile delinquency petitions 3.23 Average months spent in prison by most filed FY 2010 through FY 2019 77 serious felony class: Individuals released 4.18 Colorado juvenile delinquency petitions in FY 2019 (N=7,830) 55 filed FY 2019 by type of case (N=8,326) 77 3.24 Colorado inmate population, 4.19 Gender: Colorado juvenile delinquency FY 1990 to FY 2020 56 petitions disposed in 2019 (N=7,075) 78 3.25 Individuals serving life sentences and 4.20 Criminal cases filed on defendants under proportion of total inmate population: 18 years old at the time of offense by age, FY 2001 to FY 2019 58 cases closed in 2019 (N=62) 79 4.21 Criminal cases filed by race, defendants Section 4: under 18 years old at the time of offense, Juveniles in the juvenile justice system cases closed in 2019 (N=62) 79 4.1 Juvenile justice filtering process to 4.22 Criminal cases filed on defendants under detention, FY 2018 61 18 years old at the time of offense by 4.2 Juvenile justice filtering process to offense type: cases closed in 2019 (N=62) 80 commitment, FY 2018 61 4.23 Disposition: Colorado juvenile delinquency 4.3 Juvenile justice system flowchart 62 cases closed in 2019 (N=7,116) 82 4.4 Colorado juvenile violent and property 4.24 Dispositions and race/ethnicity: Colorado crime arrest rates, 2009-2018 70 juvenile delinquency cases closed in 2019 (N=7,116) 82 4.5 Colorado juvenile violent crime arrest rates, 2009-2018 70 4.25 Dispositions and age: Colorado juvenile delinquency cases closed in 2019 (N=7,116) 83 4.6 Colorado juvenile property crime arrest rates, 2009-2018 71 4.26 Gender: Colorado juvenile delinquency adjudications and deferred adjudications 4.7 Comparison of trends in adult and juvenile in 2019 (N=4,629) 84 arrest rates, 2009-2018 71 4.27 Race/ethnicity: Colorado juvenile 4.8 Gender: Colorado juveniles arrested, delinquency adjudications and deferred