Crime increased across Colorado in 2015 with more people killed, raped and beaten than in 2014, according to a report released Tuesday by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

More places were robbed and more stuff was stolen, especially cars, as 193,115 motor vehicles were reported stolen, up 27.7 percent from the previous year.

Statewide, 172 homicides were reported in 2015, a 14.7 percent increase over the previous year. Pueblo had the highest homicide rate in the state with 11.1 killings per 100,000 residents. Aurora’s homicide rate more than doubled from 2014 to 2015, the CBI report showed. Denver also reported a jump in homicides.

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March 12, 2016 Why Pueblo has the highest per-capita homicide rate in Colorado Homicides take their toll on communities, causing fear among residents and pain in the families and neighborhoods where they happen, Pueblo Police Chief Luis Velez said.

“People were afraid to go to certain parts of town,” Velez said. “Anytime you have people inhibit their travel, that’s something all of us don’t like to hear.”

Rapes rose 10 percent in 2015 with Denver, Aurora, Lakewood and Westminster all reporting higher numbers. Pueblo also reported an increase in rapes, but Velez said he did not know what drove up those numbers.

The CBI provides the statistics as a snapshot of crime across the state, but Susan Medina, the agency’s spokeswoman, cautioned against reading too much into year-to-year fluctuations. She also said the agency would not provide analysis of the numbers.

“What may affect Pueblo is entirely different from what might impact Steamboat Springs,” Medina said. “It’s hard to identify trends when we don’t have the story outside the statistics.”

Other highlights from the Crime in Colorado report:

Colorado residents were most likely to be killed in their homes by someone they knew who had a gun. Of the 172 homicides last year, 70 percent of the people who died knew their killers whether they were acquaintances, spouses or parents; 55 percent happened inside a residence; and 66 percent were shot to death.

Men were three times more likely to be victims than women.

Men were six times more likely to be killers than women.

Young adults were most often the victims. A quarter of those killed were from 22 to 29 years old. Another 20 percent were from 30 to 39.

Police often weren’t sure why a person was killed. “Unknown circumstances” was the most common reason behind a homicide, and “argument” was second.

Every state is required to report the same numbers to the FBI, which releases a national crime report each fall. While that report will not be released for several more months, law enforcement staffers in other states were reporting homicide increases last year.

For example, the Major Cities Chiefs Association hosted a meeting last fall when police chiefs, mayors and prosecutors from 41 municipalities met to discuss surging violence. The blame was placed on an assortment of issues such as gangs and the drug trade.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recently released its statewide crime report that showed a drop in overall crime but a 9.4 percent rise in homicides.

In Pueblo, violence soared because of a gang war, Velez said.

“We had two gangs here in town that decided they were going to go at each other,” Velez said.

Denver reported 53 homicides in 2015 to the CBI. An analysis by The Denver Post found 23 of 50 homicides last year were caused by gang feuds, particularly in northeast Denver.

But crime rates, including homicides, are variable and it’s hard to identify trends just by looking at two years of data, the Pueblo chief said.

The homicide average over five years is 8.8 for the city of 108,423 people, making it the state’s fourth highest, according to data compiled by The Denver Post.

Velez noted that Pueblo has reported three homicides thus far in 2016.

“At this rate,” he said, “we may end up as one of the lowest in Colorado.”