Criminal offenses are crimes for which the local, state, or federal government brings prosecution charges against the accused, and the penalties vary depending on the severity of crime, which is categorized as either a misdemeanor or felony. In the State of Colorado, a misdemeanor may result in fines or jail time up to a year; whereas a felony carries heavier fines and imprisonment, with the most severe sentences being life in prison or the death penalty. Federal crimes are prosecuted by the federal government and tried in federal courts. State criminal charges are brought by the Colorado State Government and prosecuted in the state criminal system.

Generally, federal offenses include crimes that cross state borders, such as smuggling controlled substances, Internet crimes, large quantity narcotic conspiracy cases, bank robbery, bank fraud, pornography cases, mail fraud, theft from the mail, bribery of public officials, kidnapping, child abduction to a foreign country and crimes committed on federal land.