Fact check: Is crime rising in Pueblo? Are the homeless bused into town in large groups?

In the buildup to the 2023 municipal election, crime and homelessness have been popular talking points among several mayoral candidates, some of whom have claimed crime is hitting a tipping point in Pueblo and that homeless individuals are bused into town in large numbers from other cities or states.

Some Puebloans have even directly asked city officials and political candidates about those claims throughout this election season.

During a debate last month, mayoral candidate Chris Nicoll relayed a claim from a Belmont security guard who alleged that many of the city's homeless are being bused into Pueblo in large groups. Randy Thurston, another mayoral candidate, shares that belief and acknowledged it on his campaign’s Facebook page when asked about it.

However, statistics show that crime across Pueblo is actually decreasing this year, and city and county officials say no concrete proof has emerged of the busing claim. Here's what we know.

Police chief says worst types of crime are decreasing in Pueblo

"Part 1" crimes, the most serious types of criminal offenses, are down 15% from Jan. 1. to Oct. 26 of this year compared to the same period last year, Pueblo Police Chief Chris Noeller told the Chieftain.

Part 1 crimes include offenses like murder, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, auto theft, sexual assault, and felony theft.

The 15% decline in such offenses comes despite the Pueblo Police Department being down almost 60 officers, with only 174 positions out of 230 currently filled, Noeller said.

"Despite that personnel loss, the guys and gals in uniform and the detectives have had a huge impact on our crime," he said.

Noeller noted that one area in which police have seen an increase over the past year is motor vehicle thefts, with 1,471 stolen vehicles reported from January through October last year compared to 1,530 in 2023.

"Our cops are doing great work," he said. "There may be other factors at play that I can't put a finger on, but what I can put a finger on is the work our guys, our officers, are doing to address crime in our community and it's had this impact."

Noeller stated that he did not have numbers on hand regarding property crime, but noted that's an area where police still have "a lot of work to do."

"It depends on the type of crime we're talking about — if we're talking felony-level criminal mischief, I don't know much felony-level property crime going on, but (it's) probably more of the misdemeanor, municipal-level property crime that we still need to work on," he said.

While Noeller noted there may be some increase in people loitering around local businesses over the past several years, he said it is difficult to quantify whether homeless individuals are disproportionately contacted by police compared to the rest of the population.

"I think the perception is out there that it's the case, but I don't know that we're seeing vast increases in crime being committed by homeless people," Noeller said.

Sheriff's office reports its own significant decrease in crime

Overall, crime reported in the county is down 16% this year compared to January through October of 2022, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero told the Chieftain.

Certain types of crime have seen even larger reductions, according to the sheriff. For example, robberies are down 37.5% and burglaries are down 35%.

Lucero attributed some of the department's success in reducing crime to campaigns conducted to raise awareness and increase enforcement, as well as cooperation between Colorado State Patrol, Pueblo PD, and the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office.

"For example, theft from autos (are) down 51.5%. I think some of the campaigns we're doing, making sure people aren't leaving valuables in plain sight and securing their vehicles, I think it's helping," Lucero said. "And then just the added enforcement effort that both police and Colorado State Patrol are doing."

Social media has also been helpful, he said. "We've solved a number of shoplifting cases as a result of tips that came in from us posting a picture. We might not be able to tell who someone is, but then we'll get a CrimeStoppers tip," he said.

While the PCSO is also struggling with staffing shortages, the three law enforcement agencies that serve Pueblo work cooperatively in conjunction with the district attorney's office to "use each other as a force multiplier," Lucero said.

Are people who are homeless being bused to Pueblo?

The theory that cities bus dozens, if not hundreds, of people who are homeless to other cities for nefarious reasons is one that has circulated not just in Pueblo, but countless other municipalities across the U.S. for some time. It’s a rumor that many news outlets have explored and one that some homeless advocates in other cities say is unfounded.

The idea that some homeless are bused to different cities, however, isn’t some new phenomenon. The practice has gone on for decades, recently through homeless relocation programs that offer people a chance to return home, reconnect with family, and better their opportunity to find housing.

Denver, like other cities in the U.S., has one such program that offers transportation support to “homeless families and individuals who want to reunite with family in another city.”

Pueblo doesn’t have that type of program, but some of its homeless advocates partake in similar practices.

Tammy and Lonny Kainz, co-founders of Crazy Faith Street Ministry, will at times buy a bus ticket for someone who wants to pursue a job, reconnect with family or has housing lined up elsewhere. Paul Montoya, a frequently active and well-known advocate for Pueblo’s homeless, said he helps around three people a year by buying them a bus ticket.

In one instance, the Kainzes helped someone return to Florida after a family member called and said they were looking for them. At times, they will buy a bus ticket for someone to go to Colorado Springs who feels they can secure more resources there to help them escape homelessness.

“They have to have a viable solution on the other end of where we’re sending them,” Tammy Kainz said. “If I’m having any hesitation, I’ll ask to speak to their employer or family to confirm.”

The Kainzes, who offer outreach meals each Sunday, don’t buy that the homeless are being bused in swarms to Pueblo — they haven’t been able to confirm such a practice takes place despite asking the new faces they encounter in their outreach work where they came from and how they got to Pueblo.

Montoya, however, said he suspects it might be true. He claimed he saw a large group of people who "appeared to be homeless" exiting buses at Mineral Palace Park in May. One of Pueblo Transit's bus routes runs through the park, but no long-range transport bus companies stop there.

“Where would they go?,” Tammy Kainz said. “I do not believe that. We would need proof to substantiate it and I don’t think anybody has been able to show proof.”

The Kainzes feel they would know if such large-scale transports were happening because they take down names during their outreach on Sundays and can spot when someone is new.

Noeller stated that the police department also will send people back to where they're from if they express a desire to return and have a support system back home.

"What we do is if we contact a homeless individual who says they're from North Carolina, for example, and they want to go back to North Carolina and have family that says, 'Yes, send them back, we'll be there to help them,' we'll get them a bus ticket to North Carolina and we'll send them out there," Noeller said. "I think that sometimes happens with other agencies that send individuals here on a Greyhound (bus) or whatever, maybe they're from Pueblo."

However, he said, he's seen no concrete evidence of any large-scale conspiracy.

"I've heard those stories too. What I will tell you is every time I've heard that story, it's been, 'I have a friend who saw', 'I have a cousin who says', 'I have an uncle who heard,'" Noeller said. "No one ever from a first-hand account has been able to tell me where they saw it, vehicle descriptions, how many people got off, where they parked the bus, so we can try to find identifying information to figure out who that was.

"And I've been hearing those same kinds of statements since I was a deputy chief, so four to five years now."

Is there any compelling evidence that it's happening?

Proof on the matter is something Chris Nicoll told the Chieftain he would pursue if elected mayor.

Nicoll said he spoke with other witnesses who claim there are buses full of homeless who've arrived in Pueblo from Fort Collins, Boulder and Denver in recent months. However, Nicoll recently attempted to verify the claim himself by spending some time at a bus station and said he didn’t witness it.

Thurston said business owners have reported to him that they see people who are newly homeless “every day” and because they see so many, they must be traveling here from other cities.

“Every day, there’s new faces, and I don’t think they’re hitchhiking,” Thurston said.

Mayor Nick Gradisar has repeatedly rejected the claim’s validity when asked about it, including during a telephone town hall with residents last month.

Gradisar called it an “urban legend,” though, like the Kainzes, acknowledged that people who are homeless come to Pueblo from Colorado Springs or Denver at times, just not in large groups.

Gradisar told the Chieftain he’s never received video or photo evidence that shows it’s occurring, despite asking people to send any such evidence to him since “everybody has a phone in their pocket.”

“People claim that they have that evidence and they’re going to send it to me,” Gradisar said. “They never do, and I think there’s only one reason they don’t — because they don’t have it.”

The city doesn’t in any way track whether groups of homeless are coming to Pueblo by bus because “no one has ever been able to prove to us that it’s a real occurrence,” said Haley Sue Robinson, director of public affairs for the city.

Lucero also dismissed the busing theory, stating he's not aware of any evidence to support it.

He stated that he believes it's possible some portion of the homeless community from other parts of the state may be encouraged to migrate to southern Colorado, due to its warmer weather and readily available resources. However, he said he's not aware of any entity working to bus large numbers of homeless individuals to Pueblo.

In other cities where the theory has circulated, struggles with housing and finances were suggested by stakeholders as reasons why homelessness increased in the area. But Nicoll said he doesn't buy that, believing there’s “enough evidence” of the mass movement delivered by eyewitnesses to investigate it further.

The discourse around the theory continues to circulate in other states and communities. Several news outlets have reported on it over the past year and some have written about it for decades.

“It’s complex,” Tammy Kainz said. “Every person is different and has a different story.”

More: Why a dark money group from Delaware is spending thousands in Pueblo's upcoming election

Questions, comments, or story tips? Chieftain reporter Justin Reutter can be reached at jreutterma@gannett.com, or @jayreutter1 on X, formerly known as Twitter. Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com, or @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Fact checking candidate claims about Pueblo crime and homelessness