All Coloradans should feel safe in their homes, communities, schools, and places of worship. Public safety is about building trust in law enforcement, preventing crimes, following data-driven policies and crime science, and making smart investments that keep people safe and strengthen communities. As Governor, I will deliver a comprehensive safety strategy built on three pillars: strong law enforcement, smart prevention efforts, and community partnerships.
Supporting Law Enforcement and Community Safety
Colorado’s law enforcement agencies are critical in keeping our state safe. And too many agencies are short on law enforcement personnel, leaving some serious crimes unaddressed. That’s unacceptable and must change. As Attorney General, I supported greater resources for our police and sheriffs, and I led the first major redesign of Colorado’s law enforcement training in more than 40 years, emphasizing de-escalation, community engagement, and safer outcomes for both officers and the public. As Governor, I will not only continue this work, but also work to recruit and retain law enforcement officers, including providing mental health services and opportunities to buy homes in the communities they live in.
As Governor, I will lead an initiative to recruit more law enforcement officers, including through our Colorado Corps that will create avenues for high school, community college, and college students to serve. Too many communities currently lack sufficient law enforcement officers to investigate all serious crimes, leaving communities less safe, harming victims, and putting undue strain on law enforcement.
Smart Prevention Efforts to Promote Safe Communities
In Colorado, we must do more to stop crimes from taking place. As Governor, I will lead a statewide effort to build safer communities through effective prevention and consistent enforcement. Those prevention efforts will focus on three pillars—gun violence prevention; addressing the addiction crisis; and an emphasis on crime science and data-driven policies. To steer this work, we will establish a Governor’s Office of Safe Communities.
Too many Colorado communities know the pain of gun violence. I fought for and defended common sense gun safety laws like waiting periods, ghost gun bans, red flag laws, and safe storage requirements. As Governor, I will continue these efforts and will sign any responsible gun safety bill that will save lives while respecting responsible gun owners. As Governor, I will expand the work and charge of the Colorado Office of Gun Violence Prevention, empowering the office to lead statewide education, prevention, and school safety initiatives that protect kids and save lives.
Too many individuals are committing crimes because of their struggles with addiction. And incarceration is often part of a vicious cycle of addiction, criminal activity, incarceration, and then re-entry only to begin the cycle anew. Our state needs more treatment to help those struggling with addiction to recover. As Attorney General, I brought $900 million to Colorado and established a nationally recognized framework to invest in prevention, treatment, recovery, and life-saving efforts. As Governor, I will continue that work, supporting co-responder programs, medication addiction treatment in jails and prisons, and other efforts that save lives, reduce recidivism, and make communities safer.
Colorado needs to focus on data-driven policies and crime science in working to prevent crimes. We lost our independent criminal justice data commission in 2023, leaving a void in evidence-based policymaking. To fill that void, I will create a nonpartisan group to provide data and recommendations that make our criminal laws fair, effective, and just. Our Office for Safe Communities will work with this body as well as focus on understanding where crimes are happening and what measures can prevent them.
As Attorney General, I focused on the rise of online retail theft—enabled by anonymous sellers of stolen goods on online platforms—and spearheaded a law to ban such sales and created a task force to address organized retail theft. As Governor, I will continue that work and champion efforts like S.B. 25-086 to require greater transparency, accountability, and parental protections from social media companies when it comes to the sale of drugs and guns online. In my administration, I will sign the next S.B. 25-086 passed by the legislature and advance solutions that prevent crimes before they happen.
Building Sound Community Partnerships
Building community partnerships and positive relationships can help keep our communities safe. On a number of fronts—preventing and addressing domestic violence; enabling those re-entering our communities from prison to live productive lives so they don’t commit more crimes; and supporting young people in positive ways so they don’t commit crimes—we have more work to do.
In Colorado, those leaving incarceration and returning to our communities are far too likely to re-offend and end up back in jail or prison. The national average for recidivism, as it is called, is 37%; in Colorado, the recidivism rate is 45%. We can and must do better. As Governor, I will expand education, stills training, and entrepreneurship programs inside correctional facilities and continue them through reentry. I will be driven by data—focusing on programs shown to work. For example, individuals who participate in educational programs while incarcerated are 43% less likely to return to prison. Making such investments changes lives, builds safer communities, and ensures our taxpayers’ dollars are used wisely.
Close to 1 of every 5 homicides in Colorado is an act of domestic violence. To live safe from fear means that we must do more to address domestic violence. As Attorney General, I fought for legislation to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, sued the Trump Administration for unlawfully withholding critical victim-support funds, and worked to expand awareness and prevention efforts across Colorado. As Governor, I will make family safety a core priority strengthening the systems that protect victims and hold abusers accountable. I will work to expand and fund Family Justice Centers so that every region of the state has a one-stop hub where survivors can access law enforcement, legal help, counseling, housing, and child support services under one roof.
We know that supporting young people in positive ways advances public safety. This commitment means addressing what we know are critical risk factors-—rising school absences, increased behavioral issues, and more young people disconnected from school, work, and community. Too often, however, our focus is only to respond punitively after harm has already occurred. We need to intervene earlier and smarter—addressing the root causes of youth violence before they escalate into lifelong cycles of incarceration or trauma—such as programs like the Cherry Creek Youth Leaders and School Support program that engages students at risk for youth violence and shows them another path.
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Colorado can and should be one of the safest states in the nation. And we can be a national leader in building safer communities through sound public policies, data, innovation, collaboration, and accountability. As Governor, I will ensure our approach to public safety is grounded in coordination, crime science, and data-driven strategies—so we enforce our laws effectively, prevent crimes before they happen, reduce incarceration through positive interventions, and strengthen trust in our justice system.