Serious crime in Denver continues to drop this year, with police giving credit to an infusion of new officers and new crime-fighting strategies.
Serious crime declined 18.2 percent for the first six months of this year compared with the first six months of 2007, police told Denver City Council members in a briefing Wednesday. The city is on pace to register its third consecutive year that reported crime offenses have fallen.
In all, so far this year, serious crimes had declined by nearly 2,400 reported offenses from the first six months of last year.
Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman said a sustained push to add officers to the force should get some of the credit. The Police Department has 100 more officers than it did in 2003, he said, allowing the department to free up officers to become more proactive.
Homicides so far this year have declined by more than 25 percent compared with the first six months last year. Sexual assaults were down by 10 percent, and auto thefts and arson had declined by more than 30 percent. One crime that had increased slightly was robbery.
Whitman said police districts now pick a crime project to tackle, and commanders monitor progress during their weekly review meetings.
Traffic enforcement is also up, the chief said. He said police have made 2,497 driving-under-the-influence arrests so far this year, up 500 from last year.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
