Aurora – Aurora police hope to get a handle on how big a problem gang activity is for this city of 300,000 people by better collecting and analyzing crime data.
A new initiative by Police Chief Dan Oates requires every officer who files a police report to mark whether the crime is gang-related. Previously, officers did not always indicate whether crimes were committed by gang members, which led to inconsistent information and enforcement.
A local anti-gang activist says it will be the first city in the metro area to document every crime to gauge the gang problem.
The norm, said the Rev. Leon Kelly, is for police departments to hide gang activity. Most departments, he said, list a crime as gang-related only when it is a gang-on-gang crime or a high- profile murder.
“I applaud what Aurora is doing,” Kelly said. “With some departments, it’s like an alcoholic. You continue to deny you have a problem and don’t deal with it. Aurora has come to realize this is an issue that needs to be addressed.”
“This is a proactive approach to take a look at the gang issue in the city,” said Division Chief Ken Murphy. “We’re not saying the gang problem is out of control. What we are doing is taking these measures to get accurate data, then we can deploy our resources.”
According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Aurora has an estimated 1,460 gang members and 36 known gangs. While most gang-related crimes aren’t tracked, four of the 16 homicides in the city last year were gang-related, the CBI reported.
The new Aurora policy, which started last month, is just one of several initiatives created to fight gang crime and violence.
The department also started a Special Investigations Unit to track crimes committed by gang members. It will collect and document all gang information and crimes, analyze that and then forward the data to the proper officers for enforcement on the streets.
Also, two more officers are being added to the Gang Intervention Unit, officers on the streets dealing with gang members. In all, that unit will have one sergeant and eight officers.
While tracking gang crimes will increase gang statistics, Aurora officials say they need that slap in the face if they are going to do anything about the problem.
“No one really wants to acknowledge that gangs exist,” said Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier, who heads the city’s Public Safety Committee. “But the reality is that you have to be kidding yourselves if you think they don’t.
“The point here is to understand to what extent it exists and then decide how to deal with the problem,” he said.
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
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