Adams County DUI Trends – 2024 Judicial Data and Enforcement Analysis

Adams County Justice Center in Brighton, Colorado – home to one of the busiest DUI dockets in the state.

✅ Updated October 2025

This updated analysis examines Adams County DUI trends and enforcement data for Fiscal Year 2024. Drawing from official Colorado Judicial Branch statistics, it highlights how Adams County has become the state’s leader in DUI filings — surpassing every other jurisdiction, including El Paso and Arapahoe Counties. The data provides insight into enforcement priorities, judicial workload, and the evolving landscape of impaired-driving prosecutions in the 17th Judicial District.

According to the Colorado Judicial Branch’s Fiscal Year 2024 Statistical Report, Adams County led the entire state in DUI filings, surpassing even El Paso and Arapahoe Counties.

In total, 1,810 DUI cases and 27 DWAI cases were filed in Adams County during FY2024 — the highest number of impaired-driving prosecutions in Colorado. The county also reported 382 “driving under suspension” cases and 9,789 other motor-vehicle cases, reflecting an active and aggressive enforcement climate.

Note: These figures represent Adams County alone. While the 17th Judicial District also includes Broomfield County, Broomfield’s DUI volume is comparatively minimal — roughly 130 cases in FY2024 — meaning Adams County accounts for nearly all of the district’s impaired-driving filings.

These statistics come from Table 35: County Court Traffic Filings by Case Type, published by the Colorado Judicial Department, which tracks all traffic-related filings statewide.

At a Glance

Adams County ranked #1 in Colorado for DUI filings in 2024.
DUI enforcement remains aggressive across multiple police agencies.
Drivers face both criminal and DMV license-revocation proceedings.
Early, experienced legal representation can significantly affect outcomes.

1. Adams County’s Position in Statewide Context

Adams County’s 1,810 DUI filings place it first in the state, narrowly surpassing El Paso County’s 1,784 filings and significantly exceeding Arapahoe’s 1,007.

While some of this volume can be attributed to population density, the disparity also reflects local enforcement intensity by the following agencies:

Adams County Sheriff’s Office
Thornton Police Department
Westminster Police Department
Commerce City Police Department
Northglenn Police Department
Federal Heights and Brighton Police Departments
Colorado State Patrol

These agencies conduct frequent DUI saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints, particularly along major corridors such as I-25, I-76, Highway 85, and 120th Avenue.

2. Historical DUI Trends in Adams County

Over the past decade, Adams County has consistently ranked in the top three jurisdictions for DUI prosecutions.

From 2015 through 2024, filings fluctuated between roughly 1,900 and 2,700 per year, tracking closely with statewide trends.

While many counties experienced a post-COVID decline in DUI filings (FY2021–FY2023), Adams County’s numbers have remained remarkably stable, suggesting continued allocation of resources to traffic enforcement and impaired-driving detection.

For a statewide perspective on repeat-offense and felony-level cases, see Colorado Felony DUI in 2025: Penalties, Data Trends, and Legal Context for a comprehensive analysis of sentencing patterns and enforcement trends.

3. Local Judicial and DMV Implications

All DUI, DUI per se, and DWAI cases in Adams County are heard at the Adams County Justice Center

(1100 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, Colorado).

Drivers charged with DUI here typically face two parallel proceedings:

A criminal case in Adams County Court, and
An administrative driver’s-license revocation case before the Colorado Department of Revenue (Express Consent). Drivers facing an Express Consent driver’s license revocation should review Express Consent Hearings in Colorado to understand how the administrative process operates and how evidence from one case can influence the other.

Because the Justice Center manages one of the heaviest DUI dockets in the state, courtroom scheduling and plea negotiations can vary by division — each with its own procedural nuances and judicial expectations.

4. Policy and Enforcement Observations

The data underscores a continued regional emphasis on deterrence-based policing.

Despite a statewide plateau in DUI filings, Adams County’s numbers demonstrate that enforcement remains a high priority in this jurisdiction.

Increased traffic enforcement, combined with broader use of body-worn cameras, in-car video, and toxicology testing, has strengthened prosecutorial leverage in many DUI cases.

At the same time, the high volume of arrests raises due-process and resource-allocation questions, particularly regarding:

Laboratory-testing turnaround times
Officer training in drug-impaired-driving detection (DRE certification)
Consistency of plea offers across divisions
Administrative-hearing backlogs at the DMV

5. Practical Takeaways for Defendants and Counsel

For individuals charged with DUI in Adams County:

Act quickly. You have seven days to request a DMV hearing after a breath test or refusal.
Scrutinize the stop. Many cases originate from minor traffic infractions or checkpoint operations that must meet constitutional standards.
Challenge the testing. Breath and blood analyses are subject to strict calibration, chain-of-custody, and toxicology procedures.
Consider local dynamics. Prosecutors and judges in Adams County handle DUI cases daily; localized defense strategies often matter as much as the evidence itself.

Conclusion

The FY2024 data confirms what defense attorneys have long observed — Adams County remains the epicenter of DUI enforcement in Colorado.

For defendants, this means a higher likelihood of arrest, tighter procedural timelines, and a system that prioritizes deterrence.

For policymakers and practitioners, the numbers provide a valuable case study in how resource allocation and enforcement priorities shape criminal-traffic outcomes statewide.

Behind every number is a person — and in Adams County, those numbers are higher than anywhere else in Colorado. Understanding these trends helps ensure that drivers’ rights are protected and that DUI enforcement remains both fair and effective.

Citation:

Colorado Judicial Branch, Annual Statistical Report FY2024, Table 31 (DUI/DWAI Filings by District) and Table 35 (County Court Traffic Filings by Case Type), available at coloradojudicial.gov.