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CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
District attorney says most crime in his Denver suburb is committed by "outsiders"
Crime is trending down across the Denver metro area, but one district attorney wants to talk about where the crime in his community is coming from. "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.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Denver metro 911, non-emergency lines go down; Douglas Co. Sheriff wants answers
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — A number of local dispatches experienced impacts Tuesday, with 911 and non-emergency lines down for hours. Some areas continued to deal with problems Wednesday. They are the numbers to call when something is wrong: 911 or your local non-emergency line. However, something went wrong with some regional dispatches Tuesday. Douglas County's sheriff tells us they got an alert from one of the state-contracted network vendors. 'We were notified by Lumen that they were getting alarms that our 911 system might be down,' Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said. 'Whenever that happens, we want to always alert the public that there is a potential if they're on a wireless phone, that for some reason the call may not go through.' Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Weekly says the sheriff's office sent out alerts on social media to the public, but there is an automatic system in place to make sure 911 calls still get answered in an outage. 'Through no human intervention, an automatic switch happens when our system goes down,' Sheriff Weekly said. 'It'll go to Arapahoe County. If Arapahoe County goes down, it goes to the Aurora Police Department. It Aurora goes down, it goes to Denver. So, somebody is answering those calls for service. My concern as the sheriff is Arapahoe County Sheriff's office, in their dispatch center, they already have a high call volume. We're adding on to their call volume. So, it's concerning that this is happening and it seems to be happening on a more frequent basis.' The Denver Department of Public Safety tells FOX31 an outage on their non-emergency line yesterday was related to the City and County of Denver's citywide network outage, not the outages at other 911 centers in other jurisdictions. We received the following statement from the Technology Services team: 'Yesterday around 11 a.m. the City and County of Denver experienced a failure in our virtual server environment which affected multiple applications and technology systems, including some limited interruptions to public services. The Denver Police Department's 911 line was never impacted. DPD's non-emergency line, however, was impacted, and we instructed community members to call 311, where their call was answered and then routed to DPD's non-emergency line. This outage was not related to the 911 issues jurisdictions across the state were experiencing yesterday. 'Our Technology Services team worked diligently with our vendor to fix the outage, and we were able to restore our systems shortly before 9 p.m. Our team continued to monitor our systems overnight into today and our vendor will continue to analyze data that was extracted after the restoration to determine the root cause of the failure.' FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox As of Wednesday afternoon, Parker Police Department is still experiencing impacts. A spokesperson shared the following statement with FOX31: 'The Parker Police Department is aware of a regional 9-1-1 outage and the disruption in emergency services that it may cause our community. Parker Police is actively working with our telephone provider to restore all 9-1-1 lines as soon as possible. We are continuing to work with Douglas and Arapahoe County Communication Centers to receive our 9-1-1's and provide us with timely information so we can provide emergency services to our community. The complexity of the 9-1-1 system and advancing communication technology is not unique to the Parker Police Department and in this time of outage we will do everything we can to continue to serve our citizens in their time of need while working with our partners to restore this valuable communication system.' 'A lot of these technology companies, they're just typically doing this whenever there's a problem,' Sheriff Weekly said as he pointed his fingers. 'That's why there's an official investigation that takes place afterwards that's overseen by the Public Utilities Commission to identify what exactly happened. Was there a particular company that was at fault or was it a hardware that was a fault? What was the issue?' Those are answers Weekly hopes can help as soon as possible. 'This seems to be happening more and more,' Weekly said. 'And my concern also is, if our system goes down and there is a major event, whether it be a natural disaster or a manmade disaster in another jurisdiction, it's just compounding the problem for that dispatch center. So we need to get to the bottom of it, figure out what's going on and fix it.' FOX31 reached out the the PUC. We received the following statement: 'By Commission rules, the PUC will conduct an investigation of any 9-1-1 center outage lasting longer than four hours. If this was a network issue, the PUC will do a full investigation, which the results will be made public. If this was a problem with the phone system, that is not in PUC oversight. We are currently waiting to hear the cause of the outages so that we can determine next steps.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Douglas County beefing up wildfire resources ahead of summer
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Douglas County now has a dedicated helicopter at its disposal for any wildfires that break out in 2025. New funding for the contract was approved in January 2025 and guarantees that Douglas County has round-the-clock access to the aerial firefighting tool for at least 168 days through December 31. 'There are many fires that the media never even hears about because of the ability of this contract, the ability of this equipment and the personnel that we have that can go at a moment's notice and fight these fires,' Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said. According to Weekly, 66% of people living in Douglas County live in the wildland urban fire interface. The inherent risk is what led county commissioners to fund the helicopter and form the only locally-supported helitack team in Colorado. DDPHE contacting people who may have been exposed to measles at DIA 'These teams can get into where other fire apparatus can't get to,' Weekly said. Douglas County is also using a system of cameras equipped with artificial intelligence to alert wildfire teams to smoke, often before a fire is reported. The technology comes from a company called Pano AI. They operate 12 cameras in Douglas County, which are funded by Xcel Energy and CORE Electric Cooperative. The cameras constantly scan the horizon over a 10-mile range. 'If a smoke alert comes in, we'll load up into the helicopter and we'll fly to where the alert was,' Douglas County emergency services operator Brianna Smith said. 'We can get anywhere in the county within 15 minutes.' Pano AI has more than 80 smoke-detecting cameras along Colorado's Front Range and in some mountain communities. They plan to install more than 150 additional cameras over the next several months. 'It's a huge improvement in public safety and protecting our homes, but more our people here in Douglas County,' Highlands Ranch resident Jim Wattenburger said. Wattenburger worked in the wildland firefighting industry for 34 years before retiring in 2011. He is advocating for more areas of Colorado to follow in Douglas County's footsteps when it comes to firefighting technology. 'I was in command of two staffed fire lookouts,' he said. 'Now they've replaced the personnel in those lookouts with fire alert cameras to where they pick it up, and have coordinates. Things are so much more advanced that this technology is a real game changer,' Wattenburger said. While the helicopter is specific to Douglas County, it will be available to respond to other areas of Colorado if needed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Denver voted to not extend its Flock camera contract: Are ICE access concerns valid?
DENVER (KDVR) — On May 5, the Denver City Council failed to approve a contract extension with Flock, a tech surveillance company that has been contracted to provide over 100 license plate readers around the county. The city first contracted with Flock in March 2023, with the original agreement lasting through the end of this February. The amendment would have extended the contract by another two years for $666,000. The original contract cost the city $339,450, but the cost wasn't the main reason why council members voted no. 18 people removed from US after Colorado Springs nightclub raid, 86 still in ICE custody: ICE Instead, the members cited privacy concerns, questioning who has access to the data as Denver continues to remain in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration for so-called 'sanctuary laws.' Members worried that federal agencies would gain access to data and information that would be detrimental to immigrant communities. The Denver District Attorney's Office told FOX31 it would work with stakeholders to address potential privacy concerns, while the Denver Mayor's Office said it had asked for the contract to be voted down, but said the city plans to continue its 'pilot of the Flock software.' 'As Denver works to leverage responsible technology to improve public safety in our community, we plan to convene a task force to address concerns and ensure we are employing the best strategies to reduce crime. We look forward to a collaborative process with City Council and other stakeholders across the city,' concluded a statement from the mayor's office. One of Denver's southern neighbors, Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly, spoke out against the vote. Weekly posted to X on May 6, referencing a FOX31 story on the contract extension failure, saying, 'This morning we caught a robbery suspect from another jurisdiction using @Flock_Safety. This tech helps catch murderers, rapists, kidnappers, robbers, & ID sex offenders near schools. Meanwhile, @CityofDenver policies empower criminals and make our entire metro area less safe.' Weekly has also been vocal about wanting local law enforcement to be able to work directly with federal agents on civil immigration matters, which is currently prevented by Colorado law, and was part of a lawsuit to try and overturn the laws so his deputies can work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The U.S. Department of Justice has also sued to try and overturn those laws. Colorado sheriff: Executive order an 'attempt to federalize, by intimidation' local law enforcement One citizen asked about the protection of personal data when it comes to Flock cameras, asserting that 'safety is paramount' but asking how much privacy should be sacrificed for safety. '100% agreed,' the sheriff wrote. 'There is an audit trail on who is accessing information and for what purpose. Also limited retention of information based on agency policy. Keep in mind this reads the tech identifies the plate and vehicle description. It does not ID the individual(s) inside.' FOX31 asked Flock to weigh in on the privacy concerns. The company noted first that its technology has been used to solve 'hundreds of cases' by the Denver Police Department, including a multi-million dollar jewelry heist at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. 'The Sheriff is correct in all of these assertions. All searches conducted in the Flock LPR (license plate reader) system are saved in a permanent audit trail, which records the user, the parameters of the search, and the reason for the search (typically a case number),' Flock told FOX31. 'All data collected by the LPR system — both vehicle images and metadata — are owned by the customer, in this case DPD, stored in the cloud encrypted, and purged automatically after 30 days. Denver has instituted an LPR policy that guides acceptable use and data sharing, along with additional best practices like regular audits and user training.' The company said that the license plate reader system only has searchable images of vehicles, which can be conducted on specific vehicle plates and vehicle characteristics, but not people. 'On data storage, our system ensures that images and metadata are encrypted throughout the entire lifecycle — collection, processing, and storage,' Flock said. The company added that it is also certified by the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services and are also NDAA, SOC2 (Type II), SOC3, ISO 27001, Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Tool, HIPAA and FERPA-compliant. CO judge expands on order, rules Trump improperly used 18th century wartime act against TdA 'Because the data is owned by the agency, Flock defers all data requests from any entity to the agency in question,' Flock concluded. The Denver City Council Committee on safety, housing, education and homelessness has not placed a new Flock camera contract request on its upcoming agenda. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
09-05-2025
- CBS News
Centennial Airport stolen vehicle crash highlights Colorado sheriff's case for flock cameras
A Colorado sheriff is expressing his concern over the ability to catch car thieves after the City of Denver decided not to continue the use of Flock cameras. Late Wednesday evening, Douglas County Sheriff's deputies pursued a stolen vehicle that ended with a crash at Centennial Airport. The incident is one of many examples of law enforcement across the state catching suspects with the help of Flock cameras, which take photos of license plates that drive by. Douglas County Sheriff's Office However, on Monday, the Denver City Council unanimously rejected a two-year extension of the Flock Safety Program, which placed license plate readers along roadways all across Denver. Members cited privacy concerns and potential opportunities for misuse as reasons. To Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly, it should only be concerning for those breaking the law. "I had the system up yesterday, about every five or 10 minutes, I had an alert that we had a problem," said Weekly. CBS The Sheriff calls the technology a game changer and is concerned with Denver's recent decision not to renew its contract to keep it. "For Denver to stop using this technology, they are potentially affecting the entire rest of the Denver Metro area and our ability to solve crimes in our jurisdiction," said Weekly. "It's a black hole for law enforcement. " Jurisdictions across the state are able to access the database to catch suspects wanted for crimes. "Criminals talk. Not only do they talk about where law enforcement is going to chase you or be more aggressive in terms of our ability to capture you. But they also talk about who has license plate readers and who doesn't have license plate readers. They plan for that." Through this technology, law enforcement is alerted when a vehicle associated with a crime passes by a Flock camera. It uploads a photo of the vehicle and its license plate, as well as a pin on a map of where it was located. CBS The deputy who receives the alert would then have to access an additional state computer database to gain more information, such as who the vehicle is registered to. "Nobody is accessing this information without a need to know. They need to have a case number or articulate their reasons for accessing the information, but again, they have to look at another database to determine what they actually have. That information is not available on the system itself," said Weekly. In addition to general privacy concerns, Denver city council members fear the information could be shared with ICE. But, both the Denver Police Department and Sheriff Weekly say that's not happening. "We have never given ICE any information, and they have never asked for it," Weekly explained. "There's absolutely no facial recognition that is associated with this. This just searches plates and vehicle descriptions. That's it." A Denver city council member told CBS Colorado the city council is now working on an ordinance that will govern surveillance technology. The belief is that the mayor's office would like to continue using this type of technology, only under the protection of an ordinance.
