A TROUBLING SLIDE IN ARRESTS
BAD MORALE IS NO EXCUSE
Rocky Mountain News.
Aug 13, 2005. pg. 14.C
The Denver Police Department may need more officers - OK, we'll even stipulate it does - but that can't be why the number of arrests in Denver has tanked since 1998, even if it's the explanation police officials naturally prefer to mention.
In 1998, the authorized strength of the police force was 1,406 officers. Last year the figure was 1,405. That's hardly a collapse, although it's only fair to note that 21 more police were assigned last year to Denver International Airport than in '98, and that the force did reach a high of 1,493 in 2002.
But those facts fail to explain why total arrests contracted by 35 percent during the period, with the percentage being noticeably larger in such categories as DUI, disorderly conduct and drug abuse.
Denver's population has been growing, of course - which is why the city needs more officers - but that's no reason why the average number of arrests per officer should go down. Yet most of the other reasons for the decline cited by officials in an article Friday by News reporter Lou Kilzer also leave us scratching our heads.
Crowded jails? They've been crowded for years.
More paperwork and procedures? Sure, but that much more?
Greater scrutiny of police actions by the media and courts? What, has there been a journalistic clamor against DUI arrests that we've missed?
The one explanation we most hope isn't true is that police aren't as motivated they used to be. "Morale is at an all-time low," contends Mike Mosco, head of the police union.
True, many police resented the Hickenlooper administration's unprecedented (but justified) punishment of Officer James Turney for shooting Paul Childs - a 10-month suspension that was overturned in January and is under appeal. And many aren't happy with the recent three-month suspension (no less justified) of Officer Ranjan Ford for shooting an unarmed man in his bed.
Nor were police pleased with the results of the latest round of collective bargaining, or with criticism for their being the only major group of city employees who refused to defer wages or benefits to help the city through a budget crisis.
But when it comes to their performance, frankly, so what if police feel maltreated? Whatever their beef against the administration (which boosted their budget by 8 percent this year), officers on the beat have a duty to give their very best to Denver citizens every single day they're on the job.
Mind you, we're not saying morale is the reason for declining arrests. Maybe the problem is one of leadership or management - how officers are being deployed, for example - or some other factor that so far remains unidentified.
Whatever the explanation, the mayor needs to locate and address it. When it comes to city government, after all, public safety is Job One.