For the next six months, Denver police will test a new community patrolling strategy in northeastern neighborhoods designed to give officers more time to work on solving persistent crime problems.
Districts 2 and 5, which include Green Valley Ranch, Montbello, Stapleton, Park Hill, North Park Hill and the Cole-Whittier neighborhood, will become part of the pilot program that begins next month.
The Hanover Justice Group, hired by the city to analyze the Police Department’s resources, examined dispatch records and crime-trend data to help create the program to maximize officers’ time.
The districts were chosen because they have the personnel available to launch the program, said Jeremy Bronson, special assistant to the mayor for public safety.
Currently, Denver police get a little more than 20 minutes an hour to work on solving problems such as serial burglaries on a certain block or an apartment complex that has a high number of calls. Officers spend a majority of their time each hour traveling from call to call or attending to problems on their own initiative, rather than at the direction of a commanding officer.
While there is no national standard for time spent per hour on long-term problem solving, a best-practice standard for the Denver police should be 31 minutes an hour, Bronson said.
The department’s “broken windows” policing initiative in the Westwood neighborhood increased arrests there by nearly 50 percent and led to nearly twice as many traffic stops, according to police.
Auto Watson, a 72-year-old man in Montbello, says he welcomes expanded enforcement. Last year, there was a shooting down the street from where he lives, but most of the crime in the neighborhood is “kid stuff.”
“I wish they would stop the doggone racing up and down this street,” he said.
Tammie Frawley, 36, moved to Montbello a week ago. Just last weekend, someone put graffiti on the fence around her home where she lives with Ed Brown, a 37-year Montbello resident.
“They need to do a little more patrolling because people are going way over the speed limit,” Brown said. “Montbello gets a bad rap, but it’s really a nice neighborhood.”
Teresa Long, a resident of North Park Hill, says the police would benefit from cultivating a friendlier relationship with the neighbors. She thinks the new approach is a step in the right direction.
“To even take the time to stay longer is a very good idea,” she said. “People may need that time to calm down and think.”
The city anticipates the program could be implemented throughout Denver next year. The department plans to use civilians to fill 16 jobs in the dispatch center, the crime lab and the crime analysis unit that are currently held by sworn officers in order to get more cops on the street.
Police Chief Gerry Whitman said there may be some initial concerns from officers because of the change.
“It’ll be more work, but more focused work, and it will be strategic and not as random,” he said.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
