Aurora – Interim Police Chief Terry Jones wants to tell a different story about the Aurora Police Department – one that includes the department’s successes, not just its problems.
For example, Aurora’s crime rate dropped 1.6 percent in 2004 compared with 2003 – with 16,895 crimes reported to police in 2004 against the 17,166 crimes reported the year before.
Among 38 U.S. cities with populations between 250,000 and 500,000, Aurora is the sixth lowest in violent crimes and the 12th lowest in property crimes.
Crime has declined while the city’s population has exploded, said Jones, who recently presented the department’s annual public safety report to the City Council.
“It’s rather impressive,” he said. “When you look at the numbers, they are indicating that the Aurora Police Department is doing more right than wrong. But if you would just look at the headlines, they make it look like Aurora is someplace undesirable.”
There are still areas to work on, he said.
While the city experienced fewer murders, rapes and robberies, there were 95 more aggravated assaults than in 2003.
And while larceny and motor vehicle thefts went down, there were 241 more burglaries – mostly residential.
The department has faced widespread criticism over its delay last fall in arresting convicted child rapist Brent Brents, who authorities say went on a rampage through Denver and Aurora before being caught in late February.
The fallout of the Brents case resulted in suspensions of Aurora City Manager Ron Miller and Deputy City Manager Frank Ragan, and then-Police Chief Ricky Bennett stepped down.
The department faced further scrutiny over an incident that involved an officer who allegedly badgered employees at a bank, reportedly harassed his ex-wife, who is a city employee, and had a standoff with the department’s SWAT team, which had surrounded his home on a report that he was acting suicidal and homicidal.
That officer is still on paid administrative leave, according to City Attorney Charlie Richardson.
Ragan, who oversees the police, said he hopes these public incidents don’t distort the department’s record, adding: “This is still one of the best police departments in the country.”
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
