This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
A note from our community’s public safety chief:
Recently, I’ve heard the following related to crime, traffic issues, and disorder in our community.
“We have a significant gang problem in our community!”
“Our community is spiraling downward because of crime!”
“It’s not safe in our community, I am afraid to walk in certain neighborhoods!”
“There is speeding on my street - children are going to die!”
“Crime in our community is the result of illegal aliens!”
“The police are not doing anything about homelessness!”
“Women are dying in our community because of domestic violence!!”
Because the media chooses to dramatize the human condition, markets fear and fault, and looks for someone or something to assign blame, we may understandably conclude that headlines and reality are synonymous. And because the social networks are unfiltered, what we read can often be head-scratching as well as unnecessarily frightening. Since the light by the media and social networks shines so brightly on what does not go well, what is good in our community often resides in the shadows.
So, I would like to address each of the above comments I’ve heard.
Gangs - There is little to no gang activity in our community today. In 2006, police services identified approximately 450 self-identified gang members and 13 different gangs in our community. There was also outside influence by gangs from the Denver metro area. In 2006, our community experienced a gang-related homicide as well. In 2018, there are fewer than 60 self-identified gang members (a number which declines annually) and only a couple of very loosely associated gangs in our community. And we keep a close eye on anyone who might want to act out as a gang member. The reason for this decline is based on a three-pronged approach of prevention, intervention and suppression set of strategies utilized by police and youth services over the years. Our schools and our streets are literally GANG-FREE today.
Community Crime - We do have crime in our community. And while I am not necessarily a compare and contrast person in terms of measuring how well our police services are performing or how safe our community is, there is some relevancy in looking at what is going on in other communities near us and similar to us. Serious crime (murder, sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, larceny, arson, auto thefts) as defined by the FBI is reported annually by thousands of communities from around the United States. Longmont’s aggregate serious crime numbers for the crimes listed above for 2017 amounted to 2,788. Just for information, over 15 years ago in Longmont, that number hovered around 5,000. Greeley's numbers for 2017 amounted to 3,229; Ft. Collins for 2017 is 4,677; Boulder's for 2017 is 3,623.
Community Safety - The data regarding violent crime in our community is very clear. 95% or more of violent crime (assaults, domestic violence, child molestations, sex assaults) in our community occurs between people who know or allegedly love each other AND within our homes. So, when people ask me if it is safe to live in Longmont, I reply, “It depends who you live with.” Our community’s streets everywhere, day and night, are safe. Are there exceptions to this in which someone will commit violence against another they do not know - yes. But, by far, the vast majority of violence occurs with those whom we know.
Speeding - Many of our streets are wide and our cars are getting faster - a great combination for more speed. Yes, we have speeding in our community. There are over 300 miles of linear roads in our community and I don’t think there is a linear inch in which people are not complaining about speeding. Does speeding contribute to the seriousness of car crashes - yes, it does. But far and away the biggest contributing behaviors to car crashes in our community are in order are 1) following too close, 2) inattentive driving (includes use of cell phone), 3) alcohol, 4) speeding. We had nine fatal car accidents in 2017. One was the result of speed and alcohol. The other fatal car crashes were caused by an unsafe U-turn, inattentive driving (no seatbelt), two crashes involved medical issues on the part of the drivers, two crashes involved a left turn in front of an oncoming car, an intoxicated pedestrian stepping into traffic, and a rear end collision. The point - while speed can be a contributing factor, the vast majority of car crashes are for other reasons.
Crime is a result of “Illegal aliens.” - A very small percentage of crime is committed by those who are undocumented in our community. Less than five percent of crime reported in Longmont is committed by those who are not documented.
Police Response To Homelessness - in 2017, police arrested 855 people considered homeless for a variety of crimes. Approximately 50% of our patrol services division’s resources are dedicated to responding to issues related to homelessness. 50% of our use of force incidents are with those experiencing homelessness. We conduct innumerable specific patrols within our parks, the downtown, along our river and elsewhere. Please keep in mind that more police and/or criminal justice system response is not going to solve or mitigate the issue of homelessness in our community. In a recent research report by the Police Executive Research Program, police response to homelessness was assessed in dozens of cities throughout the United States. The research revealed that the amount of police intervention had very little impact on the issue of homelessness in those communities. It will take a large and comprehensive effort on the part of everyone in our community.
Domestic Violence - In 1999, five women died from domestic/family violence in our community. Prior to that year, our community was averaging 1-3 domestic violent related fatalities per year. In 1999, public safety coordinated the development of the Longmont Ending Violence Initiative, a unit within public safety that focuses on community awareness and education. Longmont Police Services also started a dedicated domestic violence unit (the only one along the front range for a city our size). In addition, our police officers are all now trained in identifying the subtleties and nuances of domestic violence and are much more able to detect when domestic violence occurs. Since 1999, almost twenty years ago, there have been two deaths as a result of domestic violence -still two too many. The significant decline has much to do with the proactive, preventative, and aggressive work by those in LEVI, our domestic violence unit and our police officers.
In Colorado, amongst the larger cities, Longmont annually ranks as either the second or third safest city in our State.
In terms of fire services within public safety, I would like our community to know again that our Insurance Service Office(ISO) rating is a '2.' That is an improvement from a '4' which it was for several years. The scale goes from 1 being the highest (best) rating to 10 being the lowest rating. This rating is reflective of a fire department's readiness and capacity to suppress fires and its safety levels. We've heard from several people that their home insurance premiums decreased as a result of our newest rating.
In terms of emergency medical response, our fire services along with AMR ambulance has a "save rate" with cardiac arrests of close to 43%. The national average is approximately 11% - that’s amazing! Structure fires are rare in Longmont largely because of fire services fire prevention efforts through pre/post development inspections, and state-of-the-art codes and codes adherence practices.
So, that is a little bit from public safety. We thank you for your partnership, your support and the role you play in also keeping our community safe!
You are welcome to call me with questions or comments at (303)-651-8533 or email me at [email protected].
