PUEBLO — "While we aren't crime-free, we are heading in the right direction," said Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero.
Pueblo police reported a 13% decrease in overall crime last year compared to 2022. The Sheriff's Office reports a 7.5% decrease in the county.
Cynthia Glick said she has a hard time believing that.
"There's a lot of crime here for a small town and I hear a lot of shootings, that's unbelievable to me," said Glick.
Glick has lived in Pueblo for 12 years. "I don't feel real safe here anymore, I don't go out at night at all, yeah, it's scary"
It wasn't all good news in 2023. Car thefts went up in the city of Pueblo and the county saw a slight uptick in robberies.
"Pueblo is generally speaking a very safe community," said Pueblo County District Attorney Jeff Chostner. "It is a small group of people who interact with each other with weapons that are causing the problems."
Pueblo Police Chief Chris Noeller said drugs remain a top concern in the city and along the I-25 corridor.
"Drug distribution usually goes hand-in-hand with violent crime," said Noeller. "It touches across a wide variety of areas in our community."
Noeller said stricter state laws are needed to stop violent crime, and it starts with drug dealers and car thieves.
"I cannot for the life of me understand why we allow those convicted of these two crimes to legally possess guns in our community," said Noeller.
"We are not lawmakers, we're law enforcers so we're only as good as the laws and weapons that they give us," said Chostner.
Police expect to further reduce the crime rate by opening what they're calling a 'Real Time Crime Center,' and hiring more officers this year.
"I would like to see more police officers for sure," said Glick.
In the meantime, Glick said she's taking matters into her own hands, "I went and got a gun and I feel very safe right now."
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