I grew up in the area -- age 2 to 15 in Westminster.
Yeah, the advice you got here so far is rock solid.
Best areas are far south of the city (eg. Cherry Creek, Centennial, Castle Rock) as well as to the northwest (eg. Westminster, Arvada, Broomfield, etc.). If you keep on going northwest, you'll reach Boulder, which is also extremely nice but also expensive.
Overall, though, I'd say the whole area is quite safe compared to several other metro areas.
