Demographics Of Domestic Violence In Colorado — 2006

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The fiscal year 2006 statistics for the Colorado courts for domestic violence charges, with associated mandatory restraining orders, are given in their Table 30, with a total of 14,123, and an additional 2,644 cases of protection orders violations. Civil restraining orders are tabulated in their Table 29, totalling 13,620 (7,237 of these orders are for domestic abuse), for a combined total of 30,387. That total is up 1,716 (+6%) cases from the previous year while the sampled population increased just 2%.

The tables for domestic violence and restraining orders from which the data presented below are drawn is compiled by the State Court Administrator's Office and are available from the Colorado State Court web site. The data are combined and presented here in Table 53 together with the population-normalized values for each judicial district.

Table 53: Number of restraining order and domestic violence cases, and divorce rate in the State of Colorado in fiscal 2006 (July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006) by judicial district and county.
Judicial district Colorado Counties	2006 Census (estimate)	Restraining orders (DA)¹	Domestic violence (RO violation)²	Restraining orders %³	Percent of population	Orders per 10,000 people									Divorces per 10,000⁴
Judicial district Colorado Counties	2006 Census (estimate)	Restraining orders (DA)¹	Domestic violence (RO violation)²	Restraining orders %³	Percent of population	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	Divorces per 10,000⁴
First ⁵ Gilpin and Jefferson	532,036 total	1,229 (697)	1,249 (258)	8.2%	12.5%	44	43	44	51	52	54	51	51	47	52
Second Denver	566,974	Not included in DV totals			13.5%	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	55
Third Huerfano and Las Animas	23,372 total	130 (18)	136 (21)	0.9%	0.6%	82	124	127	119	118	136	109	102	114	66
Fourth El Paso and Teller	599,127 total	3,082 (2,303)	3,125 (419)	20.4%	14.3%	140	114	107	103	104	115	109	106	104	69
Fifth Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake, and Summit	91,428 total	194 (34)	493 (78)	2.3%	2.2%	27	75	66	68	67	73	69	72	75	47
Sixth Archuleta, La Plata, and San Juan	60,900 total	294 (115)	332 (44)	2.1%	1.5%	56	83	86	98	79	87	95	101	103	48
Seventh Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel	95,560 total	573 (248)	573 (173)	3.8%	2.3%	108	89	95	97	98	106	99	102	120	65
Eighth ⁵ Jackson and Larimer	277,659 total	526 (124)	1104 (105)	5.4%	6.6%	42	38	42	57	65	74	64	57	59	50
Ninth Garfield, Pitkin, and Rio Blanco	72,886 total	202 (86)	410 (31)	2.0%	1.7%	68	76	78	85	90	81	80	89	84	60
Tenth Pueblo	152,912	919 (598)	1,311 (403)	7.3%	3.7%	56	92	121	127	120	137	121	113	146	58
Eleventh Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, and Park	86,011 total	297 (31)	346 (47)	2.1%	2.1%	51	82	69	77	66	78	72	67	75	54
Twelfth Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, and Saguache	46,950 total	265 (50)	239 (50)	1.7%	1.1%	80	113	131	104	100	106	114	116	107	73
Thirteenth Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma	78,006 total	183 (74)	379 (135 )	1.8%	1.9%	61	61	64	62	75	63	68	65	72	52
Fourteenth Grand, Moffat, and Routt	48,666 total	109 (30)	257 (69)	1.2%	1.2%	44	45	45	62	68	81	76	74	75	58
Fifteenth Baca, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Prowers	21,112 total	77 (42)	104 (27)	0.6%	0.5%	84	80	79	77	82	75	69	79	86	59
Sixteenth Bent, Crowley, and Otero	30,389 total	190 (71)	244 (87)	1.4%	0.7%	93	131	136	163	168	153	125	133	143	69
Seventeenth ⁵ Adams and Broomfield	459,454 total	1,247 (747)	1,563 (196)	9.2%	11.0%	53	67	62	65	66	65	60	56	61	49
Eighteenth ⁵ Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, Lincoln	829,457 total	2,424 (1,142)	1,836 (308)	14.0%	19.8%	N/A	46	49	52	59	60	56	50	51	51
Nineteenth Weld	236,857	716 (433)	1,320 (80)	6.7%	5.7%	97	88	101	90	95	95	85	82	86	47
Twentieth Boulder	282,304	487 (233)	817 (40)	4.3%	6.7%	25	48	51	47	44	51	44	46	46	47
Twenty first Mesa	134,189	304 (97)	744 (21)	3.4%	3.2%	75	62	69	74	72	75	76	73	78	75
Twenty second Dolores and Montezuma	27,128 total	172 (64)	185 (52)	1.2%	0.6%	54	55	65	87	95	86	89	90	132	57
Totals (minus Denver)	4,186,403	13,620 (7,237)	16,767 (2,644)			Av 62 M 67 SD 28	Av 67 M 77 SD 27	Av 69 M 80 SD 30	Av 72 M 84 SD 29	Av74 M 85 SD 28	Av 78 M 88 SD 28	Av 73 M 82 SD 23	Av 70 M 82 SD 24	AV 73 M 89 SD 29	Av 62 M 57 SD 9
County populations: U.S. Census Bureau Restraining orders and divorces: Colorado State Court Tables 17, 29, and 30						Av 62 M 67 SD 28	Av 67 M 77 SD 27	Av 69 M 80 SD 30	Av 72 M 84 SD 29	Av74 M 85 SD 28	Av 78 M 88 SD 28	Av 73 M 82 SD 23	Av 70 M 82 SD 24	AV 73 M 89 SD 29	Av 62 M 57 SD 9
Notes: 1. Prior to fiscal 2002 the courts lumped all civil restraining orders together. Statistics for 2002 and subsequent years separate civil and domestic abuse (DA) orders. For consistency with prior years both the total number and (domestic abuse) restraining orders are given. Again for consistency, the total number of civil restraining orders plus domestic violence cases is used to calculate percentages and per capita values. Where domestic abuse orders exceed 50% the values are shown in (bold). 2. A restraining order is mandated by law C.R.S. § 18-1-1001. Prior to 2005 domestic violence cases were lumped with restraining order violations. As of 2005 restraining order violations are tabulated separately and are shown here in parentheses following the sum of domestic violence cases and violations of protection orders. Restraining order violations are shown in bold if they exceed half the number of domestic abuse orders issued. 3. Average is from the sum of civil and criminal restraining order cases (30,387) divided by the state population (4,753,377) minus Denver City and County (566,974). 4. Divorce includes all dissolutions, legal separations, and invalid marriage and totaled 26,075 in 2006. 5. Municipalities within this judicial district may also issue restraining orders and prosecute misdemeanor domestic violence cases. The state court values given here do not reflect such cases.										Av —Statewide average M —Mean of judicial districts SD — Standard deviation of judicial districts

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Despite a general decline in numbers of restraining orders over the past four years, from 78 per 10,000 citizens in 2003 to 73 per 10,000 in 2006, the number judicial districts with draconian rates of such orders increased from six to eight. In 2006 the Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, Twelfth, Sixteenth, and Twenty second judicial districts now embarrass the state with 114, 104, 103, 120, 146. 107, 143, and 132 domestic violence and protection order cases per 10,000 citizens respectively (Table 53). May god have pity on children and families in these draconian courts.

If restraining orders are being issued at the same ratio of 73 per 10,000 individuals in the entire United States as in Colorado, there are approximately 2.2 million such orders being issued every year. That continues to be a frightening number.

In 2006 there was a major upheaval in the Colorado justice system. 17 of 22 district attorneys were term limited and replaced in January 2006, halfway through the fiscal year covered by Table 53. While the impact of the changing of the prosecutorial guard won't be fully implemented until the results for the 2007 fiscal year are available, some trends are already beginning to show:

• The number of restraining orders issued in the tiny 22^nd judicial district has more than doubled since 1998, from 54 per 10,000 to 132. Since the trend has been continuous for nine years that does not appear to be a statistical fluke although the jump in 2006 to 132 per 10,000 citizens from 90 the previous year may reflect the policies of a draconian new district attorney.

• The 4^th judicial district, long a leader in tyranny, does not seem to be moderating its practices under the new district attorney.

Percent of restraining orders versus percent of population in 2006

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A simple test of equity is the percentage of restraining orders issued in a judicial district versus the percentage of the population residing in that district. If uniform standards were being applied the percent of population would roughly equal the percent of restraining orders issued in that district.

Allowing for differences in the populations of the judicial districts we still find in Table 53 that again in 2006 the Fourth Judicial District has issued an exceptionally high number of restraining orders (20.4% of total) relative to its percentage of the state population (14.3%) sampled.

The Tenth Judicial District is only mid-size but issues 7.3% of all protection order and domestic violence cases with only 3.7% of the state's population (Table 53). Similarly, the Seventh issues 3.8% of orders with just 2.3% of the population.

Although small districts, the Sixteenth issues 1.4% of orders, but has only 0.7% of Colorado's population. And the Twenty second issues 1.2% of such orders with just 0.6% of the population.

These five judicial districts fail this simple test of equity.

Comparison of domestic violence and abuse with other misdemeanors in 2006

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Table 54 is a continuing attempt, for nine years now, to see where and whether protection orders and domestic violence correlate with other societal problems. The implicit assumption in Table 54, as in previous years, is that domestic violence is associated with other problems such as alcoholism, drug use, etc., in a judicial district. For example, underage alcohol abuse and drug use would be associated with abusive or broken homes, and that Joe Six Pack likely gets into other kinds of trouble, e.g., bar brawls, for which he is arrested as well.

However, if all other categories of similar crimes are at or below the state averages except domestic violence, it suggests a witch hunt is being conducted for that specific offense. Such actions by law enforcement officials and the courts are generally regarded as an abuse of process and a violation of the equal protection clauses of the state and federal constitutions.

In Table 54 a relationship between domestic violence and abuse and other misdemeanors is discernible in the Third, Fifth, and Sixteenth Judicial Districts. The Third and Sixteenth judicial districts are depressed rural areas with populations of 23,000 and 30,000 residents, respectively. While the Fifth includes such swank resorts as Vail and Breckenridge, many of the workforce are illegal aliens and wages are generally depressed. Also, the district attorney has a tendency to make headlines for himself, e.g., the Kobe Bryant case.

Table 54: Selected misdemeanor filings in the Colorado courts for fiscal year 2006. Number of filings per 10,000 people.
Judicial district Colorado Counties	2006 Census (est.)	Domestic Violence¹	Underage Alcohol Offenses	Drugs	Offense Against Persons²	Offense Against Property³	Fraud
First ⁴ Gilpin and Jefferson	532,036 total	23	23	19	25	11	2
Second Denver (not included in totals)	566,974	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Third Huerfano and Las Animas	23,372 total	58	45	29	45	42	3
Fourth El Paso and Teller	599,127 total	52	20	28	24	13	2
Fifth Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake, Summit	91,428 total	54	47	39	33	16	1
Sixth Archuleta, La Plata, San Juan	60,900 total	55	70	21	19	15	1
Seventh Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, San Miguel	95,560 total	60	30	28	28	10	9
Eighth ⁴ Jackson and Larimer	277,659 total	40	39	35	27	17	0
Ninth Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Blanco	72,886 total	56	31	30	31	14	1
Tenth Pueblo	152,912	86	23	7	17	9	0
Eleventh Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Park	86,011 total	40	27	34	32	12	12
Twelfth Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache	46,950 total	51	33	38	55	18	33
Thirteenth Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma	78,006 total	49	22	29	28	10	3
Fourteenth Grand, Moffat, and Routt	48,666 total	53	69	60	39	60	4
Fifteenth Baca, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Prowers	21,112 total	49	32	20	22	24	19
Sixteenth Bent, Crowley, and Otero	30,389 total	80	42	10	46	23	3
Seventeenth ⁴ Adams and Broomfield	459,454 total	34	5	18	14	8	0
Eighteenth ⁴ Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, Lincoln	829,457 total	22	23	10	14	9	0
Nineteenth Weld	236,857	56	15	26	19	10	3
Twentieth Boulder	282,304	29	53	22	19	18	0
Twenty first Mesa	134,189	55	25	55	32	19	1
Twenty second Dolores and Montezuma	27,128 total	68	51	26	36	14	5
Statewide average (– Denver) Mean of 21 judicial districts Std. deviation—21 judicial districts		Av 40 M 51 SD 16	Av 25 M 35 SD 16	Av 22 M 28 SD 13	Av 22 M 29 SD 11	Av 12 M 18 SD 12	Av 2 M 5 SD 8
County population estimates: U.S. Census Bureau Misdemeanors: Colorado State Court Table 30
Notes: 1. Domestic violence includes both domestic violence and protection order violation cases. 2. Offenses against persons includes the crimes of assault, child abuse, forgery, harassment, menacing, and sex offenses. 3. Offenses against property includes the crimes of arson, criminal mischief, and theft. 4. Municipalities within this judicial district may also prosecute misdemeanor domestic violence and other crimes. The state court values given here do not reflect such cases. 5. Values that differ from the state average for a given offense by one standard deviation or more are shown in bold.

These relationships are examined over a period of eight years in Table 66.

Perjury prosecutions

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As has been true in previous years Colorado courts again failed to prosecute perjury. Table 30 from the state court administrator only shows 2 cases of perjury in 2006. In our experience the only time perjury is prosecuted at all is if the person admits it.

Subornation of perjury is not a criminal offense in Colorado and in People v. Turner 04 SA 178 the state supreme court ruled that a defendant in a criminal domestic violence case had no right to obtain documentation of what was probably subornation of perjury against him.

The rule of law cannot long endure if perjury is tolerated and subornation of perjury is condoned and even encouraged.

Protection order violations

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Beginning in 2005 the state court reported protection order violations separately. Table 30 shows 2,644 total cases of restraining order violations compared with 14,123 domestic violence cases and 7,237 domestic abuse protection orders (Table 53). Since it is quite unlikely that all protection order violations are prosecuted, more than 20% of all protection orders were violated in 2006.

Elsewhere we have pointed out that increasing prosecution of protection order violations has been shown to increase the risk of homicide.

One might question the value and protection provided by court orders that increase one's danger and are so routinely violated.

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Last modified 12/18/24

Demographics Of Domestic Violence In Colorado — 2006

Table 53: Number of restraining order and domestic violence cases, and divorce rate in the State of Colorado in fiscal 2006 (July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006) by judicial district and county.

If restraining orders are being issued at the same ratio of 73 per 10,000 individuals in the entire United States as in Colorado, there are approximately 2.2 million such orders being issued every year. That continues to be a frightening number.

Percent of restraining orders versus percent of population in 2006

Comparison of domestic violence and abuse with other misdemeanors in 2006

Table 54: Selected misdemeanor filings in the Colorado courts for fiscal year 2006. Number of filings per 10,000 people.

Perjury prosecutions

Protection order violations

One might question the value and protection provided by court orders that increase one's danger and are so routinely violated.