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Study Warns Colorado’s High Theft Threshold Fueling Retail Crime Growth
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Study Warns Colorado’s High Theft Threshold Fueling Retail Crime Growth

By Mark Samuelson | Colorado Politics Shoplifting and other forms of retail crime are seeing a sharp rise as Colorado heads into the holidays, according to a study. After falling from a recent-record 24,975 thefts reported in 2015 to around 18,000 in 2021, Colorado Bureau of Investigation data show a jump to more than 27,000 shoplifting crimes in 2024, according to former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, who co-authored the study. The study was released in the past week by the Greenwood Village-based Common Sense Institute. It reported that shoplifting hotspots include Adams County, with 52,333 incidents over the span from 2014 to 2024; followed by Jefferson County, with 34,241 incidents; and El Paso County, 33,339 over the span. Other counties posting high numbers ...
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Trump Confirms Death of West Virginia Guardsman Attacked in DC
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Washington Examiner, Approved, National

Trump Confirms Death of West Virginia Guardsman Attacked in DC

By: Ross O'Keefe | The Washington Examiner West Virginia National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom has died from her injuries after she and another soldier were shot Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced. She was 20. Her father, Gary Beckstrom, previously said she wasn’t expected to recover and had a mortal injury. “I must unfortunately tell you that just seconds before I went on right now, I heard that Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023 outstanding in every way. She’s just passed away,” Trump said Thursday evening. “She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her. It’s just happened. She was savagely attacked. S...
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Colorado Judge Restricts ICE Detentions, Siding With ACLU Plaintiffs
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Fox News, Approved, State

Colorado Judge Restricts ICE Detentions, Siding With ACLU Plaintiffs

By: Landon Mion | Fox News ACLU lawsuit accuses immigration agents of indiscriminately targeting Latinos without proper legal justification. A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Colorado may only arrest illegal immigrants without a warrant if the targets are likely to flee. U.S. District Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson's order comes after a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and other lawyers on behalf of four people, including asylum-seekers, who were arrested by ICE without warrants earlier this year as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration. The lawsuit accuses immigration agents of indiscriminately arresting Latinos to meet the Trump administration's i...
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Phil Weiser’s Failed Experiment in Criminal Justice
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Phil Weiser’s Failed Experiment in Criminal Justice

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice  It has become a common theme in many states and cities that the authorities who are responsible for the long-term safety and security of their residents, nevertheless subscribe to the popular fallacy that locking up criminals does little to deter future offenses and is less effective in the long run that social programs or rehabilitation efforts, however those might be defined.  The theory here is that criminals aren’t responsible for their actions, Society is primarily to blame.  The policies of Colorado’s attorney general, Phil Weiser, and the Democrat dominated Colorado legislature prove how foolish and misguided this theory is.  In 2019, the Colorado legislature eliminated the option of cash bail for...
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Data Breach Spurs Colorado Law Enforcement to Seek More Reliable Alert Systems
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Data Breach Spurs Colorado Law Enforcement to Seek More Reliable Alert Systems

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7 CodeRED is an emergency alert platform used by dozens of Colorado agencies to notify residents about fire evacuations, active shooters, and weather advisories. DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — Several Colorado law enforcement agencies say they're either terminating or reevaluating contracts with CodeRED, an emergency alert system, after the company fell victim to a cyber attack earlier this month. Crisis24, the company that owns the CodeRED platform, confirmed that data including names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and passwords of users signed up for alerts may have been leaked in the data breach. Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said his office was not contacted by Crisis 24 until deputies tried to send out a CodeRED alert to residents ab...
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Colorado Ballot Plan to Toughen Fentanyl Penalties Moves Forward
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Ballot Plan to Toughen Fentanyl Penalties Moves Forward

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette A proposed measure that would increase penalties for fentanyl manufacturing, distribution, and possession has collected enough signatures to qualify for the 2026 ballot, following several failed attempts by the state legislature to pass similar legislation. Backed by Advance Colorado, the ballot initiative would make the sale of any amount of fentanyl a Class 1 felony, punishable by up to 32 years in prison. It would also mandate court-ordered substance use treatment for individuals convicted of possession of up to one gram of fentanyl. On Thursday, family members who lost loved ones to fentanyl overdoses joined legislators and law enforcement officers at Denver’s Ralph Carr Courthouse to announce that the initiative had gathered...
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Colorado’s “Reform Paradox”: Falling Recidivism, Rising Violence, and the Real-World Cost of Dangerous Releases
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s “Reform Paradox”: Falling Recidivism, Rising Violence, and the Real-World Cost of Dangerous Releases

By Shaina Cole | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Common Sense Institute’s October report shows Colorado’s three-year recidivism rate falling from about 52 percent in 2019 to near 31 percent in 2022. On paper that looks like improvement. In practice, the number tells only a small piece of the story.  CSI makes it clear that the number drops mostly because fewer people are going to prison at all. The state’s incarcerated population has shrunk, felony filings are down, and more defendants are getting funneled into diversion programs or handed PR bonds under Colorado’s evolving bail practices. When the state isn’t locking people up, fewer people return to prison later. That’s not a public-safety miracle. It’s just the math. Ask people who actually live here whether things...
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Colorado Drug Bust Exposes Cartel Ties After 1,000 Pounds of Meth Seized
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Just The News, Approved, State

Colorado Drug Bust Exposes Cartel Ties After 1,000 Pounds of Meth Seized

By Natalia Mittelstadt | Just the News Of those indicted, 11 have been arrested, while four others remain at large. Fifteen people have been indicted in Colorado after roughly 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine was seized following a two-year investigation into a drug trafficking organization from Mexico operating in the state, according to federal officials. Of those indicted, 11 have been arrested, but four others, including the organization’s alleged leader, are still free and believed to be in Mexico, according to the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Associated Press reported. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge Dave Olesky said in a Wednesday news conference that the investigation revealed ties “to elements in Mexico involving the Sinaloa and Ja...
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Colorado State Patrol Vehicle Hit During Chase as Suspect Flees in Stolen Shuttle Bus
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Colorado State Patrol Vehicle Hit During Chase as Suspect Flees in Stolen Shuttle Bus

By: Parker Gordon, Brooke Williams | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — New video has been released showing two suspects inside a stolen shuttle bus that allegedly hit an Idaho Springs police vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. FOX31 reported on the incident on Oct. 10 and on Tuesday, the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office released new video and photos of the alleged driver behind the wheel of the stolen Clear Creek County Roundabout shuttle bus. Authorities are now asking the public for help identifying the driver, who the sheriff’s office said struck a patrol vehicle on Interstate 70, and later drove through the scene of a different crash. Video shows the moment the shuttle bus narrowly missed first responders on the scene from the driver’s point-of-view....
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DEA Seizure of 1.7 Million Fentanyl Pills Shocks Highlands Ranch Community
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

DEA Seizure of 1.7 Million Fentanyl Pills Shocks Highlands Ranch Community

By Heather Willard | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A Highlands Ranch storage unit that was purchased during an auction turned into law enforcement’s largest seizure of fentanyl in Colorado history. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said that on Nov. 11, someone legally purchased a storage unit and when they opened it, found multiple items that appeared to be illegal. The purchaser contacted the sheriff’s office, and deputies and narcotics detectives quickly identified what the sheriff’s office described as a “massive quantity” of kilogram-sized packages and M-30 pills, which are counterfeit pills sold on the street containing fentanyl. After testing the pills, investigators confirmed they had seized: 198 kg of counterfeit fentanyl pills, which is about 1.7 million pills 1...
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