Despite two mass shootings in Colorado Springs in 2015, recently released crime statistics show that the city has not seen a spike in violence in the last year.

In 2015, Colorado Springs Police reported 22 murder or manslaughter cases to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation – which put it right at the five-year average for homicides in the city. Year-over-year, the city saw a 10 percent increase in homicides from 2014. In the same period, the state rate increased by almost 15 percent, according to figures released by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Additionally, the number of rapes and robberies actually dropped year-over-year while they increased across the state. Assaults in the city did increase by about 13 percent in that period, compared to 7 percent across the state. Overall, violent crime in Colorado Springs appears to be dropping in most categories. From 2011 through 2015, homicides dropped by 21 percent, rapes dropped by 8 percent and robberies dropped by 16 percent. Assaults, however, increased by 12 percent in that same period.

The statistics come from the CBI’s Crime in Colorado Report, an annual report that shows crime statistics from agencies around the state. Overall in Colorado, the number of reported crimes increased by 6.2 percent while in Colorado Springs the number increased by 2.8 percent. “We’re very fortunate in Colorado Springs because this is a safe community,” said Lt. Howard Black, spokesman for the Colorado Springs Police Department. “When you look at per capita rates, we’re really a safe city.”

Colorado Springs received national attention toward the end of 2015 when two mass shootings occurred within a month. In the first, 33-year-old Noah Harpham killed three people on Halloween day before he was shot and killed by police. Less than a month later, three people were killed at the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Clinic before police arrested Robert Lewis Dear Jr.

Mass shootings in Colorado Springs and across the country in 2015 prompted a national gun-rights debate. The use of guns in crimes in Colorado Springs does appear to be increasing slightly over a five-year time period. For example, guns were used in 47 percent of the robberies in 2015 compared to 45 percent of 2011 robberies. Also, guns were used in 11 percent of assaults in 2015 compared to 9 percent in 2011.

Still, overall, the crime rates do not reflect the uneasiness that many people felt this past year about the amount of violence in Colorado Springs, Black said. People can access more information about crime than they used to, he added, and that exposure might have something to do with it.

“In today’s society, we are being so bombarded with data that we might be seeing our world in a more violent way,” Black said.

Other highlights from the report include:

– Pueblo had the highest homicide rate in the state with 11 homicides per 100,000 people in 2015. Colorado Springs, the second-largest city in the state, had 5 homicides per 100,000 – which ranked it fourth among Colorado’s 12 largest cities.

– The change in non-violent crime appears to be mixed. Burglaries in the city dropped by 27 percent in the time period analyzed while motor vehicle theft increased by 47 percent – the largest increase of any crime category.

Black acknowledged that motor vehicle theft has seen a large increase in recent years. He added that it’s also one of the most preventable crimes.

“Lock your cars, keep your keys out of your cars, don’t leave your car puffing in the driveway on cold days,” he said.

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Contact Maria St. Louis-Sanchez: 636-0238

Twitter @mariastlouis

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Police respond to the scene with an active shooter near the Planned Parenthood at Fillmore and Centennial on Friday, November 27, 2015. Three police officers have been reporter injured in addition to multiple civilian injuries. Photo by Stacie Scott, The Gazette

STACIE SCOTT