Several residents and business owners in southwest Denver said it apparently matters less to city officials when burglars break into their homes and businesses than when thieves enter more affluent households across town.
The Denver Police Department’s weak staffing of District 4 speaks for itself, said Johnnie Zamora.
“They just don’t care,” said Zamora, who added that southwest Denver is largely populated with poor or middle-class Latinos.
A Denver Post analysis found that although District 4 has nearly half as many officers patrolling its streets as more affluent District 5 in far northeast Denver, it has more calls for police service than any other of Denver’s six police districts.
The analysis found that from December 2004 through November 2005, 23 percent of all the city’s calls originated from the southwest Denver district.
Two homes on 53-year-old Ruben Salgado’s street in the 4700 block of West Byers Place have been burglarized in the past year, Salgado said.
“You don’t see many police officers in this part of town,” Salgado said. “Just their presence alone could make a difference.”
He said he believes it has something to do with staffing levels across Denver, not just in his neighborhood. The department just doesn’t have enough officers on patrol, he said.
Salgado bought an alarm system and has a large metal gate blocking access to his garage and backyard. He and his neighbors provide their own security by watching out for one another, he said.
Jewelry store owner Anthony Sanchez said graffiti tagging has become epidemic in southwest Denver and north Lakewood.
“We’ve been tagged every day for the last four or five days,” he said. “I’ve seen a big jump in crime in the last year.”
Calling Denver and Lakewood officials has had little impact, he said.
Kim Nguyen, who owns a liquor store on Federal Boulevard a few blocks south of West Sixth Avenue, said police always respond to his calls about panhandlers or when thieves snatch liquor bottles, but by the time officers arrive the culprits are long gone.
The street should get a higher priority from the Police Department before crime happens, he said.
If officers could make more rounds, they would discourage crime, Nguyen said.
“What can I do?” Nguyen asked. “I just give up.”
Instead of waiting for more police surveillance, he bought more surveillance cameras and beefed up his security system.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
