DENVER — Violent gun crime in Denver has fallen by 12% so far this year, according to the Denver Police Department. However, some city council members question whether the department has been as successful as it claims, noting their constituents don’t feel safe.
Ryan Zeman has lived in Denver's West Colfax neighborhood for seven years.
“There was a big West Colfax redevelopment plan that the city released, and being in real estate, I saw a lot of opportunity in this neighborhood to grow,” said Zeman.
However, Zeman said things have gotten worse. He and his neighbors have reportedly seen an increase in people using drugs in the open. He’s also heard about more thefts and other crimes.
“We have quite a bit of drug use behind our house, in our alley,” Zeman said. “There was a shooting that involved one of our neighbors in the last few months as well."
Zeman said a lot of that activity has made its way to Paco Sanchez Park. Those types of concerns are why DPD selected the area around the park as one of its “emerging hot spots” to focus on this year.
It’s part of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s goal to reduce violent gun crime in Denver by 20% this year. DPD originally listed five hot spots, but the list increased to seven with the addition of Lower Downtown (LoDo) and La Alma/Lincoln Park.
DPD said its hot spot strategy helped reduce violent crime near Federal Boulevard and Alameda Avenue a couple of years ago and it hopes to replicate that success in other parts of the city.
Denver
Mayor Mike Johnston says he wants to reduce violent gun crime by 20% this year
Denver PD leaders gave the Denver City Council an update on its strategy on Wednesday.
Commander Jacob Herrera said there’s been a 12% reduction in violent gun crime across the city this year. He also reported a decrease in murders committed with firearms. But some council members said their constituents don't feel safe, despite what the statistics show.
“We live with constant gunfire all night,” said Denver City Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez. “I was just at a community meeting last night, and there is this question of do I need my husband to walk me out to my work at night because I don’t feel safe? Am I overreacting or not? People don’t know what’s happening.”
Alvidrez believes a lot of crime is not being reported, including crime taking place near Federal and Alameda, where a Walgreens location recently closed. The company did not mention crime as a reason for the closure, but other businesses have closed stores due to retail theft.
Herrera said DPD's hot spot strategy is great at reducing violent gun crime, but said it’s not effective in addressing other types of crime.
“It’s not a good fit for reducing theft at Walgreens, for instance,” said Herrera.
He said the department will do more work to address those types of crime next year.
“One of the things we’re going to develop next year is a problem-solving team that can really address quality of life issues,” said Herrera.
In addition to increasing its patrols, Denver PD has also focused on crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED).
CPTED is a nationally recognized crime reduction strategy that focuses on making physical improvements, such as adding better lighting and installing security cameras. Supporters of CPTED say such simple changes can discourage people from committing crimes in certain areas.
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