Making the police department more effective
Suffering from occupational cynicism and paranoia after serving 35 years with the Denver Police Department, I am contemplating whether I can offer an objective view on the controversy concerning the statistical handball that is being batted around the police department and city hall. The usual suspects have offered their opinions. Now, we have a police monitor with civilian review, the Hanover Justice Group, Air Force Academy cadets and someone named Jeremy Bronson, who will be paid $90,000 yearly to be a special assistant to the mayor. How many police vehicles could that money buy?
It is shameful to report that Denver police officers need to be told where crime is occurring. You don’t need a laptop to lead you to high-crime areas. The problem is that the police are busy with service calls, burdened with paperwork and jumping through hoops that the aforementioned groups will inadvertently place in front of them. This leaves no energy or time to be proactive.
Officers must take ownership for the crime problem and accept responsibility for reducing the impact of crime in their precincts. That means knowing and respecting your community, being given the authority to make decisions at street level, and expecting competence of supervision and the support of the administration. The street officer, who has for too long been relegated to a stenographer, needs to be given the tools, opportunities and responsibilities to once again be a part of crime reduction. This is community policing.
I know it sounds simplistic, but it works.
David O’Shea-Dawkins, Denver
Modernizing the state’s voter registration system
Re: “State voter system takes a messy U-turn,” Dec. 2 editorial.
Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis did the right thing by firing the contractor hired to create our state’s centralized voter list. But why did it take so long to start the project? The Help America Vote Act became law in 2002. The original deadline to create a centralized voter registration system was Jan. 1, 2004. Accenture wasn’t even hired until after Colorado received a two-year extension. Furthermore, why did it take so long to terminate the contract? We are approaching 2006. If Dennis is correct, and Accenture has “missed every deadline” since 2004, then the contractor should have been replaced earlier. Why didn’t former Secretary of State Donetta Davidson take the appropriate action earlier in 2005? Why did Dennis wait until now? The Post raises an important point when it says that state voters must have confidence in the machinery of elections. It is the responsibility of the secretary of state to maintain that confidence. Failure to start projects in a timely manner and to meet deadlines does little to secure the public trust.
Rick VanWie, Denver
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I read with interest your editorial about this state’s computer troubles. Having worked on large systems for the states of New York and New Jersey as an analyst, I know where many of the pitfalls lie. There is a methodology for building computer systems that outlines the steps necessary to get a soundly written, tested, up-and-running system.
The major weakness in building a system is generally insufficient analysis and lack of documentation of the analysis. No one likes to document, so you start with a problem. Workers who you are interviewing for the design of the new system take weeks and often months before they realize what kind of information you need and what is possible with a newer system. One must go back to the same interviewees repeatedly.
The next big mistake is in the testing of the system. The final system must be tested off line before going live, and one does not take a whole system live at once. You do it piecemeal while running parallel with the old system unless you have the option of a duplicate set of hardware.
Another, more obvious mistake is in thinking that one model, one group of processes, will be appropriate for every group of users.
A good system does take time. If your contractor tells you otherwise, don’t believe him. Change orders are the rule of the day, but you can head off many with a sound analysis up front. That, with documentation, saves time in the long run.
Grace Todd, Idaho Springs
Options for parents of mentally ill youth
Re: “Children shouldn’t be beyond hope,” Nov. 29 Diane Carman column.
Thank you to Diane Carman for writing about the sad situation of an adolescent girl who “has been struggling with bipolar disorder, psychoses and other illnesses” and is now “hanging out with prostitutes and drug addicts.” Carman states that even if runaway youth can be located, help is hard to come by and parents may have to relinquish their children to obtain services for them.
Parents shouldn’t be beyond hope, either, and in Colorado, there is an alternative to relinquishment. The Child Mental Health Treatment Act, sponsored by Sen. Moe Keller and also known as House Bill 1116, is now law. Parents who are able to locate their children may go to their local community mental health center and request and receive a mental health assessment for their child. Mental health centers may also help parents apply for Supplemental Security Income. If a child is diagnosed with a mental illness, and if both processes above are completed and approved, families should be assessed, based on income level, only a portion of the room and board costs for that child’s care in a residential treatment center. This allows families to be involved in the care of their child.
Barbara Mattison, Denver
Racism and character
Re: “Racism at the University of Colorado,” Nov. 28 Open Forum.
Regarding racist incidents at the University of Colorado at Boulder, letter-writer Marissa Deal asks, “Is it a matter of racism or character?”
I am an African-American woman and a single parent of a well-rounded African-American teenaged male. At the elementary school level, most Latino and African-American boys (especially those in single-parent homes) are already seen and treated as a statistic. By the time these boys reach high school, some of them have given in and behave just as they’ve been treated. Those who have been raised to be proud of who they are have had positive role models in their lives; this includes adults of all races.
This brings up the question of character or racism. Behavior is learned; children watch and mimic their parents’ actions. It is important for adults to be mindful of what they are teaching young people. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Jocelyn Miller, Aurora
Respect for natives
According to The Associated Press, the Army wants to resume live-fire exercises in a valley on the island of Oahu that native Hawaiians consider sacred, despite a settlement agreement prohibiting such training.
Why is this a surprise? We’ve brokered some 500 treaties with Native Americans here in Colorado and throughout the states and desecrated untold numbers of places they consider sacred. California’s Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sees nothing wrong in imposing his state income tax on tribal casinos, land we’ve told them are sovereign nations, and on and on and on.
At least we’re consistent.
With the contempt we show to other cultures, why is anyone surprised that we are the most reviled, distrusted nation on Earth? Say one thing and do another – that seems to be the American way. Too bad so many people buy into the “say” part so much.
Ralph W. Homan, Twin Lakes
When in Pueblo
Re: “Pop in to Pueblo,” Nov. 27 Colorado Sunday Round Trip feature.
Thank you for the Round Trip article on Pueblo. It was wonderful to see our Headwaters Fountain and the map to our home and studio designated as focal points for one to see when visiting Pueblo. I feel, though, that the fabulous Sangre de Cristo Arts Conference Center was overlooked as another destination. This facility is truly a regional center, a showcase for Southern Colorado artists and one not to be missed.
Jean Latka, Latka Studios, Pueblo
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