Colorado Springs saw a 28% decline in homicides in 2025 and an even larger drop in vehicle-related crimes, with burglarized vehicles dropping by 32% and motor vehicle thefts declining by 42%, translating to 1,600 fewer vehicles being stolen than in 2024, Mayor Yemi Mobolade and Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said Thursday.

“Colorado Springs is safer today than when I first took office. That is not just a statement. That is backed by real and measurable data you are about to see,” Mobolade, who was elected in 2023, said during a news conference at the City Administration Building.

Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said the department streamlined its auto theft investigations by combining resources between different investigative teams and the police data analysis unit.

“We found that if we could center and focus that particular crime to one team, versus all teams maybe hunting the same group or individual to arrest them and not knowing they were each looking at the same person, we found we could go after more prolific offenders,” Vasquez told reporters.

The local numbers mirror a similar decline in major crimes across Colorado. A report by the Colorado Department of Public Safety in January said motor vehicle thefts declined by 34% statewide. Law enforcement experts credited the decline to a state law that made vehicle theft a felony and increased the penalty for repeat offenders.

The Denver Police Department reported one of the largest drops in homicides of any major U.S. city in 2025, when it recorded 37 murders, down from 70 in 2024.

Police deploy more drones

Colorado Springs police have seen a rise in drone responses in 2026. The Police Department had a single drone that responded to 1,423 calls in 2025.

So far this year, city police have deployed drones more than 2,500 times, the third-most drone responses of any local law enforcement agency in the country, behind Las Vegas and Jefferson Parish, La., according to Vasquez and the drone vendor company Skydio.

Vasquez said the drones are able to clear some calls for service without having to send additional officers and can provide initial details to shape the police response. The Police Department plans to add more drones to the program in May, with the new drones being based on the city’s north side.

BY THE NUMBERS

Homicides

2024: 36

2025: 26

-28%

Motor vehicle theft

2024: 3,791

2025: 2,191

-42%

Burglarized vehicles

2024: 3,787

2025: 2,590

-32%

Source: Colorado Springs Police Department