Just as Colorado’s legislature is poised for a new crackdown on child trafficking, a report released this week concludes the repugnant crime “remains near historic levels for the state.”

“The ranking is among the highest in the nation for both the number and rate of trafficking offenses and with minors making up the majority of victims,” Colorado’s Common Sense Institute says in a press statement accompanying the findings.

Among the disturbing data revealed in the institute’s analysis — gleaned from FBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigation data: 

• Colorado had the 13th highest number of human trafficking offenses nationally in 2024 88 reported incidents.
• The state ranked 15th highest per capita, at 1.48 offenses per 100,000 residents.
• 2024 marked the second-highest year on record, behind 2023.
• 110 trafficking crimes already have been recorded for 2025 although complete reporting for last year is still pending.
• 79% of the cases involved commercial sex trafficking.
• Roughly two-thirds of the victims were minors.
• Victim counts have increased 63% in the 2020s compared to the late 2010s.

The statistics are alarming, and the implications are troubling.

“Colorado’s trafficking problem has not meaningfully improved,” said former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, who was quoted in Common Sense’s press statement. Morrissey now serves as an Owens Early Criminal Justice Fellow with the institute. 

“The data shows we are still operating near peak levels,” Morrissey said. “This is a persistent public safety and human rights crisis affecting minors across the state.”

The findings follow the introduction this legislative session of Senate Bill 26-075 — a much-needed, bipartisan push to turn up the heat on predators who buy children for sexual exploitation. 

Under current Colorado law, that’s a Class 4 felony, with penalties so low most offenders get probation rather than time behind bars. Under the legislation, buying children for commercial sexual exploitation would be a Class 3 felony, meaning no probation.

The measure was introduced in the state Senate by Democratic state Sen. Dylan Roberts of Frisco — a former assistant district attorney — and Republican state Sen. Byron Pelton of Sterling. The legislation not only has the support of lawmakers in both parties but also of Democratic and Republican leaders in the state House. Its prime sponsors in the state House are Democratic Majority Leader Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge as well as Assistant Republican Minority Leader Ty Winter of Trinidad. 

So, the measure has credibility and clout behind it — and, importantly, it draws strong support from both sides of the aisle in a legislature where Democrats are overwhelmingly dominant. Let’s hope that results in swift passage for what should be viewed as a no-brainer.

Ruling Democrats have a substantive opportunity here to counter the soft-on-crime image their party has taken on at the Capitol thanks to the noisy, headline-grabbing political fringe within their ranks. Here’s a chance to rein in the party’s advocates for reckless “justice reform” — essentially, letting criminals off easy —  by declaring there are crimes that simply warrant stiff sentences. 

That’s a given for rank-and-file Coloradans, of course. But it would be heartening for the legislature to acknowledge it with a unified voice. 

We wish the bill a clear path to the governor’s desk.