AURORA, CO – A reduction in various crimes in Aurora, Colorado, compared to the first six months of 2025 has officials citing a more data-driven approach to policing, alongside utilization of new technology, as being pivotal to the successes seen thus far in 2026.
On July 28th, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain held a press conference where he discussed crime reduction within the city, pointing to the first six months of 2026 compared to the same time period of the previous year where a number of serious crimes have been seeing a downward trend.
Reportedly homicides are down by 59% compared to 2025, car jackings down by 38%, and both burglaries and sexual assaults having gone down in the city by 24%, with Chief Chamberlain citing the likes of data-centric policing alongside novel and emerging technologies like enhanced license plate readers aiding in the ongoing endeavor.
“We identify the patterns. We use crime analysis to ensure we understand what the repeat locations are, what repeat offenders are, what are the incidences, where they are occurring, and then we do what we call hotspot policing,” Chief Chamberlain stated during the press briefing.
While Chief Chamberlain is seemingly pleased with the positive results regarding downward trends of serious crimes in the city, he admitted the department is somewhat struggling to get a reasonable control on retail theft.
“In regard to crimes that we’re struggling with, it’s still larceny, which is petty theft. That is something, you know – again, we will identify the ones that we struggle with as much as we identify the ones that we’re doing really well in – and that’s something that we still have to focus on and to impact, and that’s challenging,” Chief Chamberlain stated.
Chief Chamberlain noted that with regard to retail theft, his department is “constantly coming up with new strategies” to combat the practice in the city, emphasizing that “community partnerships” will play a critical role in deterring retail theft.
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