Demographics Of Domestic Violence In Colorado — 1998

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The earliest statewide demographic data regarding restraining orders presently available is for the year 1998.

Table 38 shows the number of those orders issued in Colorado by judicial district and county versus the population in each district except Denver (2^nd Judicial District), with a total for the rest of the state of 21,475 such orders in 1998.

Table 38: Number of temporary and permanent restraining orders issued in the State of Colorado during fiscal 1998 by judicial district and county.
Judicial district Colorado Counties	1998 Census Estimate	Restraining orders	Percent of restraining orders	Percent of population	Orders per 10,000 citizens
First Gilpin and Jefferson	504,986 total	2,231 total	10.4%	14.6%	44
Second Denver (not included in totals)	498,402	145	N/A	N/A	N/A
Third Huerfano and Las Animas	21,514 total	176 total	0.8%	0.6%	82
Fourth El Paso and Teller	511,272 total	7,152 total	33.3%	14.7%	140
Fifth Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake, Summit	67,858 total	180 total	0.8%	2.0%	27
Sixth Archuleta, La Plata, and San Juan	50,199 total	281 total	1.3%	1.5%	56
Seventh Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel	79,350 total	857 total	4.0%	2.3%	108
Eighth Jackson and Larimer	232,625 total	988 total	4.6%	6.7%	42
Ninth Garfield, Pitkin, and Rio Blanco	58,985 total	402 total	1.9%	1.7%	68
Tenth Pueblo	134,919	761	3.5%	3.9%	56
Eleventh Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, and Park	76,240 total	387 total	1.8%	2.2%	51
Twelfth Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, and Saguache	44,394 total	354 total	1.7%	1.3%	80
Thirteenth Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma	71,137 total	433 total	2.0%	2.1%	61
Fourteenth Grand, Moffat, and Routt	40,153 total	177 total	0.8%	1.2%	44
Fifteenth Baca, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Prowers	22,000 total	185 total	0.9%	0.6%	84
Sixteenth Bent, Crowley, and Otero	30,766 total	284 total	1.3%	0.9%	93
Seventeenth Adams	323,427	1,722	8.0%	9.3%	53
Eighteenth Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, Lincoln (Aurora Municipal Court N/A)	638,326 total	1,572 total is suspect	7.3%?	18.4%	Suspect
Nineteenth Weld	159,501	1,550	7.2%	4.6%	97
Twentieth Boulder	266,671	656	3.1%	7.7%	25
Twenty first Mesa	112,899	850	4.0%	3.3%	75
Twenty second Dolores and Montezuma	24,456 total	132 total	0.6%	0.7%	54
Totals (minus Denver)	3,470,565	21,475	Statewide average: 62 Mean of judicial districts: 67 Standard deviation 28 (except Denver and Aurora)
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Restraining orders: Colorado State Court Administrator's Office and Denver Post.

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Given an estimated population of 3,470,565 for Colorado (does not include Denver) in 1998, each judicial district (minus Denver) should have issued 62 ±28 (one standard deviation) restraining orders per 10,000 residents if reasonably uniform standards are being applied. Note that such a large standard deviation, in and of itself, suggests that equal protection is not being afforded all citizens of Colorado.

According to the Colorado Legislative Council Staff, 12,166 people were charged with DV in FY1998. 79% of those charged were male, or roughly 9,600 men. Of the people charged with domestic violence in Colorado in FY1998, 4,331 were actually convicted and that appears to be largely because they pled guilty or no contest. We suspect the gender bias for convictions is even stronger than for arrests but do not have sufficient data to make an estimate.

As shown in subsequent sections, these initial results have persisted in following years.

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| Chapter 8 — Demographics Of Domestic Violence In Colorado |

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Last modified 9/10/24

Demographics Of Domestic Violence In Colorado — 1998

Table 38: Number of temporary and permanent restraining orders issued in the State of Colorado during fiscal 1998 by judicial district and county.