Crime and Public Safety
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I have three to four top issues and we will get to the others another day, but I want to address my number 1 platform tenet, Crime and Public Safety. We just lost a great young Police Officer, Julian Becerra. The deepest prayers of my family extend to Julian’s family. Sunday, 5 February, Bullets rained down on a house in a subdivision north of Falcon shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, striking five people, one of whom was killed. Colorado Springs saw 54 murders in 2022, more than in any year since 1985, FBI data shows, and the Gazette reported.
Mayor Suthers stated in his most recent State of the City speech that while our prison population has been reduced 23% over the past decade, our serious crime rate has increased 42%. Our Mayor said, and I agree, that it’s clear many of our legislators in Denver don’t understand the correlation. It’s my hope the voters of Colorado will restore some common sense and philosophical balance to Denver that can deal with the crime wave we’re experiencing. Rather than working their agendas, my deep hope is that they find common sense things they can agree on to protect Colorado and Colorado Springs citizens. In the here and now, this agony lands on our city. Our City Council can not solve the problems Denver inflicts on us, but Voters in Colorado Springs must elect a mayor and City Council that understands what we must do to protect our citizens.
In the category of things city Council and our next mayor can work on, our city has a severe shortage in police recruitment and retention within CSPD. KOAA reports that CSPD hopes to add more than 100 officers by the end of the year, but even then, more officers will be needed, as the city's growth shows no signs of slowing down. CSPD told News5 it currently has 745 officers, but not all of them are on the streets at this moment. Some of those officers are currently teaching in the academy. Resources continue to be stretched thin. As a Councilman, I want to have a voice, to step up to this table and be part of something great. Motivated additions to the police force will be crucial for public safety goals going forward Our city has more than 300,000 calls for service coming in annually. It hasn't been under 300,000 since 2016. As a city, we face the important job of recruiting and identifying the city's next generation of police officers. During the next 5 to 10 years, police department leaders project the city will need a new substation in the northeast part of town and a force of roughly 955 officers.
If elected to council, I will strive to sit at this table and be part of working and solving this part of the problem.