WEEK OF FEBRUARY 27, 2025
VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 35 OVERALL RATE
PERSONAL CRIME
FREE CAR THEFTS
Ralston House in talks with City of Arvada to move into old Community Table building City-owned property on 57th Avenue would allow nonprofit to consolidate Lakewood and Arvada operations
A SALUTE TO YEARS OF SERVICE P4
BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
▼3% A SKY-HIGH OPPORTUNITY
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19%
▼39%
Arvada crimes report Year-end statistics for 2024 show meaningful decreases, worrying spikes
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2025
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Arvada’s year-end crime statistics from 2024 are out, and while the overall crime rate increased 1.3% from 2023; however, personal crime — including assaults, homicide, human trafficking, sexual assault and kidnapping — is up 34% compared to last year. The primary driver of that increase is assaults, which increased by 26% from last year and jumped up 19% from the previous three-year (2021-2023) average. The overall Arvada crime rate was down 3% from the three-year average last year. The Arvada Police Department breaks down assaults into three categories: simple assaults which do not involve a weapon, aggravated assaults which do involve a weapon and intimidation assault, which involves threats. Within these categories, simple assaults rose the highest, from 413 incidents in 2023 to 513 in 2024. Chase Amos, APD’s Public Information Officer, said that a large proportion of assaults stem from domestic relationships — 25% of
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all aggravated assaults and 33% of all simple assaults — and that although instances of assault have risen, the risk of being accosted in public remains low. “(Assaults) largely involve persons known to each other,” Amos said. “So, that figure is scary, because I think people immediately think, ‘Oh my god, I’ll walk down the street and get mugged or beaten up,’ but the majority are between people that know each other. So, family members, acquaintances or romantic partners.” Amos said the proportion of domestic assaults remained constant from 2023 to 2024. One area of crime that decreased dramatically from 2023 to 2024 was motor vehicle thefts, which, in 2024, dropped 18% from 2023 and 39% from the three-year average. Part of the reason those numbers are down is because of a spike in motor vehicle thefts during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in 2020 and 2021. That spike may have made folks more aware of protecting their vehicles, Amos said, leading to a drop in stolen cars.
Ralston House, local nonprofit that works with for victims of child abuse might be moving into a city-owned building that formerly housed Community Table, the largest food bank in Arvada. As Community Table prepares to make its own move to a larger facility this spring, the question of what will become of the city-owned property located at 8555 W. 57th Ave has come up. Now, the City of Arvada and Ralston House are working together to negotiate a lease agreement that will allow the nonprofit to move from its current home at 10795 W. 58th Ave to the larger building down the street. “We don’t have a lease agreement yet, but (the City of Arvada) have said the building is ours to use,” Donald Moseley, Ralston House’s executive director, said. “I should point out our current site in Arvada is owned by the city, and we have been in it now, I think, over 20 years and they maintain that building in and out, and so it would be the same sort of thing at this other site; we would have that same relationship with the city.” At its current location, Ralston House pays $1-a-year to the city for lease payments, a setup similar to other agreements Arvada has with local nonprofits using city buildings. Arvada’s Director of Communications and Engagement Rachael Kuroiwa confirmed that talks with Ralston House to move into property on 57th Avenue are ongoing and said the city supports the nonprofit in its effort to provide vital services. “Ralston House has long been an important partner and service provider, serving children and families during difficult moments,” Kuroiwa said. “We are optimistic that we will come to an agreement that benefits the City, Ralston House and the community.”
SEE CRIME STATS, P7 SEE RALSTON, P9
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