International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2018/Spring 2019 | Page 31

Impact on Lower-Level Crime
International Journal on Criminology
What is true for criminal organizations is also true for groups at the bottom
of the criminal world’s hierarchy, including small resale networks
for cannabis that operate more at the semi-wholesale or retail levels.
Many law enforcement professionals feared that there would be a switch to other
illegal activities to compensate for the losses caused by legal sector’s seizing of a
large part of the market. Although it is difficult to establish causal links between
cannabis regulation and changes in criminal activity, police statistics show a rise in
crime in Colorado, and in particular in its capital, Denver. 17
In fact, the latest data, which covers 2016, show a significant increase in
homicides (+ 10 percent), robberies (+ 6 percent), burglaries, rapes (+7.2 percent),
and vehicle thefts (+ 22 percent). 18 In addition to shifts in the acts committed by
small criminal groups, notably in dealing in stolen cars (figures for which exploded
between 2016 and 2017), to explain this trend some specialists cite an increase
in the number of heroin addicts financing their consumption by illegal means and
the post-legalization influx into Colorado of a marginalized population (veterans
and homeless people) that is seeking consumption opportunities. 19
In addition, legalization has brought about sui generis criminal activity
such as burglarizing of marijuana plantations, which according to the DEA has
led many growers to arm themselves, and robberies from retailers and businesses
in the sector. This latter phenomenon could nevertheless subside as this sector
begins to make greater use of banking facilities. In fact, because of banks’ reluctance
to provide accounts to an industry that has always been regarded as illegal
by the federal government and to expose themselves to money laundering judicial
proceedings, businesses in the sector hold considerable cash sums that create
predatory envy.
In any event, this increase in small- and large-scale crime is feeding a growing
sense of insecurity among the population (see box below).
Increases in Feelings of Insecurity in Colorado
Although increases in feelings of insecurity have been fed by objective
elements such as the increase since 2012 in violent crimes,
sults from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (Rockville, MD: SAMHSA, 2017).
17 This makes Denver an exception in the United States, according to a study carried out in the thirty
largest US cities that shows a stability in crime levels (Denver Post, July 2017).
18 Colorado Bureau of Investigation, 2016, Crime in Colorado (Denver, CO: Colorado Bureau of Investigation
2017).
19 Kirk Mitchell, “Crime Rate in Colorado Increases Much Faster than Rest of the Country,” Denver
Post, July 11, 2017.
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