Exactly one year ago today, television pundit Nancy Grace predicted that Colorado and its then-newly legal marijuana sales would set the state up “for one of the biggest crime waves you’ve ever seen!”
And no, we didn’t add the exclamation point. That was Grace’s.
I guess I should say congrats Colorado, b/c you’re setting yourselves up for one of the biggest crime waves you’ve ever seen! #PotShortage
— Nancy Grace (@NancyGraceHLN) January 8, 2014
While some organizations say that crime is up as others say crime is down in Denver, the truth is most general crimes haven’t seen a significant year-over-year rise or fall in Denver.
As Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson told us in June: “We look to the economy and other factors as to why crime goes up and down. Traditionally, it’s been trending downward for the last few years.”
Have we witnessed “one of the biggest crime waves you’ve ever seen”? Certainly we have not.
For an alternate perspective, read this Washington Post opinion piece from April: Denver crime has dropped, so why the panic?
