District attorney says most crime in his Denver suburb is committed by "outsiders"
"We are being victimized in big numbers by people who don't live here," said George Brauchler, district attorney for Colorado's 23rd Judicial District, which covers Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties.
Six months into the judicial district's existence, Brauchler and other Douglas County officials are taking a closer look at what kind of crime the region has seen.
"Downstairs in my jail, the inmates that are currently in my custody, 70% of those inmates do not reside in Douglas County. That's a huge number," said Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly.
According to Community Justice Services data, only 26.6% of those arrested in Douglas County between June of last year and May of this year live in the county. Twenty-five percent are from Denver and 19% from Aurora.
"The bulk of our crime is coming from north of us," Brauchler said. "We are being taxed by other people by paying to take care of the crimes they come down here to commit against our community."
The data shows 44% of those defendants were on parole, probation, bond, or summons at the time of arrest, which Brauchler says means the checks in the judicial system are not working.
"We are being victimized by outsiders, and the system is failing to protect us from crime," Brauchler said.
Brauchler is calling on neighboring counties to share their crime data, and approaches to law enforcement.
"I really would like to ask Denver, what percentage of your crime is committed by Douglas County residents, because my guess is it ain't 25%. Somewhere along the line here, we're going to have to have a conversation about how you address the fact that one population comes down to victimize another, and how to make that right," Brauchler said.
A spokesperson for the Denver Mayor's Office said:
"In our experience, criminals generally don't care too much about county lines. We regularly work with our neighbors to make our cities and communities safer and will continue to do so. Denver is laser-focused on reducing crime, as evidenced by the homicide rate experiencing the sharpest decline of any large city in the country. These successes are felt across the Metro and state."
An Aurora spokesperson told CBS Colorado:
"Aurora Police maintains an online transparency portal which includes updated crime statistics. It is updated weekly. As of today, overall crime in Aurora is down 30.2% YTD. Aurora's data cover crimes that occurred in Aurora. The city does not maintain data of Aurora residents who may have committed crimes in other jurisdictions.
The city, which includes the Aurora Police Department, has not heard directly from District Attorney Brauchler in this regard.
Aurora, the third-largest city in Colorado, sits in three counties, Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas, and values its relationship with each."
Weekly says crime is down in his jurisdiction too.
"Burglary is down 42%, motor vehicle theft down 24%, trespasses to vehicles, so vehicle break-ins down 31%, forcible rape down 34%, and property crimes like vandalism are down 24%. These are not small wins. We are talking about hundreds of people that are not being victimized," Weekly said.
He attributes the reduction largely to the technology the office uses, including drones, Flock cameras, and license plate readers, as well as the office's use of social media.
"If you commit crimes in Douglas County, we will make you famous, because we will record and put out there your arrest," Weekly said.
"If you can't or won't follow the law, go break it somewhere else," Brauchler said.
Data from Brauchler's office shows that since his term began, 100% of those who pleaded guilty to motor vehicle theft or felony eluding served jail time.
"If you come down here to victimize us, you should expect to be incarcerated," Brauchler said.
"My best advice is, follow the law. My second best advice is: this map highlights the roads you can take to avoid this jurisdiction, because at the end of the day, the time spent in the car driving around us will be less than the time you spend in jail or prison."
Weekly encourages everyone in Douglas County to make sure to lock their doors and use security cameras or light systems in their homes.
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