DA and Sheriff give update on Mesa County crime rates
21st Judicial District Attorney Dan Rubinstein and Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell gave a detailed presentation on Mesa County crime rates at the regular administrative public hearing on May 7, 2024.
The presentation compares crime rates from 2008 to 2023, discusses the reasoning for specific rises or reductions, and looks at our rates alongside state averages.
Sheriff Rowell’s portion of the presentation focuses on unincorporated areas of Mesa County, where approximately 72,000 of our residents live.
Key takeaways:
- In 2023, we had less violent crime in Mesa County than in 2008
- From 2008 to 2023, murder, aggravated assault, non-consensual sex offenses, and robbery numbers in Mesa County stayed flat, while Colorado saw a spike.
- From 2020 to 2023, property crime has steadily decreased due to work with federal, local, and state partners to reduce crime in our community.
- Out of the four classes of property crime measured, the larceny, burglary, and auto theft numbers stayed flat while fraud increased.
- 2023 Case Clearance Rates show Mesa County solves crime better than the rest of the state in all nine categories of crime: violent crime, murder, non-consensual sex offenses, aggravated assault, robbery, larceny, burglary, fraud, and auto theft.
- From 2008 to 2023, other than fraud, every crime category has gone down.
DA Rubinstein’s findings include statistics from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office and the Grand Junction Police Department.
Key takeaways:
- At the end of 2017, the Public Safety Sales Tax passed, allowing for higher staff levels of cops on the street solving crimes. This resulted in a high number of felony filings in 2018.
- Since 2018, felony filings have been going down.
- Reported crimes and prosecutions are going down.
- The 21st Judicial District Attorney attributes decreases in Mesa County crime rates to Mesa County’s proactive approaches to solving crime, including the Co-response team and MAC team, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office and Grand Junction Police Department’s real-time crime centers, proper staffing levels, the Lighthouse Program, Adult Diversion Program, Fast Track, and PreCAP.
As Mesa County continues to navigate the challenges of crimes, public awareness and cooperation with law enforcement become increasingly critical. The community's proactive involvement and continued support for law enforcement efforts are essential in making strides toward a safer society for all residents.
View community resources for the Sheriff's Office here and click here to learn about the data the DA's Office is releasing about our criminal justice system.
