Denver is deploying a new team to curb crime downtown

Denver leaders want to regulation enforcement and psychological well being specialists to enhance downtown’s “unsafe” fame.

Why it issues: Crime is driving out companies and large-scale conventions at a time when downtown Denver struggles to carry employees and vacationers again to pre-pandemic ranges.

• “The truth is we’re shedding conventions” and firms “as we market our metropolis — and other people have chosen to not come to downtown Denver,” Mayor Michael Hancock stated at a information briefing Thursday.

What’s occurring: Denver is deploying a “downtown motion group,” first introduced in April, which can carry an even bigger police presence, extra substance misuse specialists, graffiti and trash cleanup, and enhanced security measures, like lighting, to the center of town.

• The plan will initially deal with curbing legal exercise, homelessness and drug use across the Colorado Conference Middle — the place crime is up 5% in comparison with the three-year common, and drug- and alcohol-related offenses are hovering 60%, per metropolis officers.
• The mayor stated the crackdown mirrors an effort earlier this 12 months at Union Station, the place neighborhood advocates say security enhancements have been made because of greater than 1,200 arrests and citations largely associated to low-level drug crimes.

Particulars: Denver Police chief Ron Thomas stated the variety of officers assigned to the Conference Middle hall will rely “on the day and state of affairs,” however declined to offer extra data.

• Metropolis officers stay murky on different specifics, together with the scale of the group, how a lot it is going to value, and which metrics shall be used to measure success — although officers stated each company concerned will monitor information.

What they’re saying: A lot of downtown’s rebound shall be assessed by “intangible” components, stated Kourtny Garrett, head of the Denver Downtown Partnership.

• “It is the vibrancy of the road. It is having individuals again in our eating places, it is having our staff again, it is getting the vitality again in downtown Denver,” she stated.

The opposite facet: Some enterprise homeowners within the space say the crime crackdown ought to’ve come sooner.

• “We have been complaining about issues downtown the final couple of years, ever since COVID began. It is November 2022, and we’re actually addressing this now?” Chris Fuselier, proprietor of Blake Avenue Tavern in LoDo, advised CBS4.

What to look at: It is unclear whether or not the newest plan to cut back crime in Denver will result in a growth in enterprise and Colorado Conference Middle bookings.

• Hancock’s term-limited tenure additionally ends subsequent 12 months, calling into query whether or not a brand new mayor will maintain the plan in place.