Advanced Search
Index: Crime & Safety / Subcategory: Crime

Adult Arrests

Date posted: 07/16/2008

The data presented represent the rate or number of adults arrested, not the number/rate of offenses committed. Individuals are reported in the month and year they are arrested, rather than the date the crime was committed. Several adults can be arrested for the same offense, or one adult can be arrested on multiple offenses, in which case the arrest would be counted only once for the most serious offense.

Rates are based on the adult population in Larimer and Jackson counties (8th Judicial District). All Loveland Police Department (LVPD) rates and numbers from 2003 are estimates based on extrapolations from four months of data the agency submitted to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Categories of arrests are:

What this chart shows: Total Adult Arrest Rate - 8th Judicial District, 1998 - 2007

Total Adult Arrest Rate - 8th Judicial District, 1998 - 2007

Data Source: Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

See data table

What this chart shows: Adult Arrests Rate by Category of Crime - 8th Judicial District, 2003 - 2007

Adult Arrests Rate by Category of Crime - 8th Judicial District, 2003 - 2007

Data Source: Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

See data table

What this chart shows: Adult Alcohol and Drug Arrest Rate - 8th Judicial District, 2003 - 2007

Adult Alcohol and Drug Arrest Rate - 8th Judicial District, 2003 - 2007

Data Source: Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

See data table

What this chart shows: Adult Narcotic Arrests - 8th Judicial District, 2001 - 2007

Adult Narcotic Arrests - 8th Judicial District, 2001 - 2007

Data Source: Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

See data table

What these data tell us:

In 2007, the rate of total adult arrests in the 8th Judicial District (48.8 per 1,000 adults) decreased from the previous year (50.2 per 1,000 adults). Three of the four categories of crime, 'Crimes Against Persons', 'Property/Fraud', and 'Other' were relatively stable from 2003 to 2007. The 'Alcohol/Drug' rate began to decrease from 2003 to 2005 and has increased since then to 22.9 per 1,000 adults in 2007. The overall 'Alcohol/Drug' trend reflected the local trend in Narcotic Drug Law violations through 2004 (see Narcotics - Methamphetamine for additional information).

The number of Adult Narcotic arrests decreased slightly (5%) between 2003 and 2007. During this same period, the number of arrests has remained relatively stable, placing a corresponding strain on the resources of the criminal justice system. Local law enforcement, the District Attorney's Office, and Detention Center resources have not increased proportionally to population growth in the 8th Judicial District. The number of arrests would need to decrease significantly before any relief would be felt across the criminal justice system.

Additionally, any changes in the types of arrests, such as the increase in methamphetamine related arrests, can place a disproportionate strain on local resources. The recent increase in 'Average Length of Stay' for defendants housed at the Larimer County Detention Center (LCDC) is partially a reflection of this phenomenon. The length of stay increased from 13.4 days in 2001, to 16.5 days in 2007. This represents a 14.3% potential loss of capacity to house defendants, or 2,061 fewer defendants who could be housed at LCDC in 2007.

Alcohol/Drug - Narcotics - Methamphetamine: As noted above, from 2003 to 2007, the total number of local arrests decreased 5%. However, a significant trend is evident when types of arrests are examined. A major increase in local use and distribution of methamphetamine (meth) resulted in a corresponding surge in 'Narcotics' arrests up to 2004 by local law enforcement agencies.

In the 8th Judicial District, the total number of 'Narcotics' arrests more than doubled (118% increase) from 1999 to 2004. Most local law enforcement agencies reported significant increases in 'Narcotics' arrests during this same time, including: the Fort Collins Police Department (67%), the Larimer County Sheriff's Office (284%) and the Loveland Police Department (256%). Meth arrests can involve lengthy investigations and associated risks such as offenders' possession of multiple weapons as well as meth charges. These factors necessitate an exponential increase in the use of law enforcement, pretrial detention space and court resources for these cases, as compared to other arrests. In other words, an increase in meth arrests causes a disproportionate use of criminal justice resources.

Arrest data, while an important indicator of increases or decreases in local drug use, should be considered in conjunction with other markers for a more complete picture. Additional measures of meth use can be found on Compass, including:

Additional Information:

On Compass -

Outside Compass -

Industry Standards or Targets:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports - National Data

Data Tables:

Number & Rate of Adult Arrests - 8th Judicial District

Berthoud Police Dept.

C.S.U. Police Dept.

Estes Park Police Dept.

Ft. Collins Police Dept.

Jackson County S.O.

Larimer County S.O.

Loveland Police Dept.

Larimer & Jackson Co./ Total Arrests

Larimer & Jackson Co./ Adult Population

Total Arrests Rate

1995

25

654

321

8,191

0

1,421

1,877

12,489

168,479

74.1

1996

2

760

275

8,636

7

1,594

1,868

13,142

173,074

75.9

1997

1

529

307

7,490

29

1,769

1,832

11,957

177,654

67.3

1998

15

655

222

7,361

14

1,945

1,632

11,844

182,785

64.8

1999

35

594

224

6,144

44

1,806

1,002

9,849

188,552

52.2

2000

18

706

205

6,622

46

1,952

2,065

11,614

194,265

59.8

2001

30

649

244

4,979

50

2,489

2,474

10,915

199,645

54.5

2002

61

794

218

5,793

26

2,416

2,411

11,719

203,522

57.6

2003

44

742

161

6,588

25

2,709

2,871

13,140

205,492

63.9

2004

47

520

180

6,313

48

2,596

2,671

12,375

208,963

59.2

2005

62

793

217

4,202

32

2,293

2,880

10,479

211,898

49.4

2006

43

782

171

4,648

10

2,110

3,118

10,882

216,887

50.2

2007

41

664

152

4,333

11

2,169

3,399

10,769

220,796

48.8

See chart

Number & Rate of Adult Arrests by Category - 8th Judicial District

Crimes Against Persons

Rate of Crimes Against Persons

Property/ Fraud Crimes

Rate of Property/ Fraud

Alcohol & Drug Offenses

Rate of Alcohol/ Drug

Other

Rate of Other

1995

1,034

6.1

2,704

16.0

5,817

34.5

2,934

17.4

1996

1,039

6.0

2,865

16.6

5,872

33.9

3,366

19.4

1997

953

5.4

2,635

14.8

5,248

29.5

3,114

17.5

1998

1,024

5.6

2,312

12.6

4,960

27.1

3,546

19.4

1999

870

4.7

1,612

8.5

4,744

25.2

2,603

13.8

2000

1,223

6.3

1,942

10.0

5,121

26.4

3,318

17.1

2001

1,210

6.1

1,571

7.8

5,292

26.4

2,834

14.2

2002

1,373

6.7

1,870

9.2

5,487

27.0

2,989

14.7

2003

1,347

6.6

1,790

8.7

6,295

30.6

3,708

18.0

2004

1,145

5.5

1,731

8.3

5,833

27.9

3,666

17.5

2005

947

4.5

1,389

6.6

4,265

20.1

3,878

18.3

2006

1,075

5.0

1,225

5.6

4,829

22.3

3,753

17.3

2007

1,120

5.1

1,237

5.6

5,046

22.9

3,366

15.2

See chart

Number & Rate of Adult Alcohol/Drug Arrests - 8th Judicial District

Narcotic Drug Laws

Rate of Narcotic Drug Laws

DUI

Rate of DUI

Liquor Laws

Rate of Liquor Laws

Disorderly Conduct

Rate of Disorderly Conduct

1995

319

1.9

2,256

13.4

1,918

11.4

1,324

1,324

1996

396

2.3

1,922

11.1

2,260

13.1

1,294

1,294

1997

518

2.9

1,942

10.9

1,520

8.6

1,268

1,268

1998

426

2.3

1,977

10.8

1,240

6.8

1,317

1,317

1999

493

2.6

1,917

10.2

1,060

5.6

1,274

1,274

2000

529

2.7

1,837

9.5

1,432

7.4

1,323

1,323

2001

618

3.1

2,243

11.2

1,190

5.9

1,241

1,241

2002

667

3.3

2,262

11.1

1,153

5.7

1,405

1,405

2003

997

4.9

2,450

11.9

1,298

6.3

1,550

1,550

2004

1,073

5.1

2,115

10.1

1,108

5.3

1,537

1,537

2005

781

3.7

1,963

9.3

984

4.6

537

537

2006

740

3.4

1,933

8.9

1,216

5.6

940

940

2007

790

3.6

2,109

9.6

1,167

5.3

985

985

See charts - Alcohol/Drug, Narcotics Arrests