Halloween in Cole

Nothing says "Halloween, Cole Style" like spooky police tape...

Denver weighs security vs. privacy as cops focus cameras on crime - The Denver Post

City Councilman Doug Linkhart, on DPD's placing crime-prevention cameras in high-crime areas of town:

"The public has a right to be wary," Linkhart said

Of what? Of getting caught on tape picking their noses? These are cameras temporarily placed in high-crime, public, right-of-way areas. Don't get it. If you aren't up to no good, why would you care if there's a camera taping you as you walk or drive by?

So what you're saying, Doug, is that criminals' civil liberties are more important than fighting crime?

Full article here:

Denver weighs security vs. privacy as cops focus cameras on crime - The Denver Post

Shared via AddThis

Denver Metro Crime Statistics Released

If you haven't checked it out, and want some interesting (though hardly enlightening) reading, I highly recommend all residents take advantage of the citywide crime data available at the City of Denver website.

You can see the trending of crime by category citywide, and by neighborhood. For example, here are the most recent breakdowns for Denver and for Cole.

What can we learn from these numbers? Well I'm clearly no expert, but I get a sense that it's hard to take the data at face value, though folks on both sides do. When crime goes down, it's a victory for COMP-STAT policing, and our police in general. When crime goes up, it's spun by Alisa and the "Coalition" to say that our police aren't making any progress, and are just upping harassment.

No secret that I'm pro-cop, and applaud DPD for all their efforts in the challenging cultural melting pot that is Cole and urban Denver. Some interesting stats in the latest updates (Comparing YTD statistics for 2009 versus the same period in 2008) for Cole:

• Aggravated assault is up 13.6% (Is this an actual increase in crime, or an increase in reported and/or documented crime? Meaning, is activity about the same, or even down, but a higher percentage of riff-raff are getting arrested?)
• Burglary is down 20% (I don't get this one. I'm a firm believer that burglars target homes where they have a good shot at getting something of value. As more affluent residents move in, there are more desirable possessions in the homes, like laptops, TV's, bikes, etc. Cherry Creek has some of the highest burglary rates in the city, historically. Are there a bunch of criminals living there? No, but there are a lot of desirable possessions to be had there.)
• Theft from motor vehicle up 42% (I believe it. Again, nicer cars, with PDA's, CD's and other desirables in them than in the past)
• No arrests for prostitution in either year during this period (Seriously? I don't know about you, but I see an occasional hooker, not as many as in previous years, but they're there. But I know it's really hard to catch one "in the act", thus generating an arrest that can be documented. But the problem is much less than it was a couple years ago along Bruce Randolph and by the Down-and-Out Super.)
• Disorderly Conduct up 200%, from 3 to 9 cases. (Again, there aren't more drunks today than yesterday, but I think people are stepping up and not tolerating that kind of behavior as much anymore.)

I've said it before and will say it again, I think we'll see crime "statistically" continue to increase in certain areas as more affluent and law-abiding citizens move into Cole, for some time. And those statistics will be used by "activists" like Alisa and the "coalition" to point that DPD's tactics don't work.

But anyone that isn't completely blind can see that the quality of life, safety, cleanliness, and appeal of Cole is better now than ever before. We're making progress, with the help of the DPD. And I'm very grateful for their help.

Thanks for reading.

Coffee Shop Coming to 37th and Franklin

The neat old building on 37th and Franklin that has been a drug store, brothel, day care, and most recently, residences, is being re-modeled to be a coffee shop. Interesting location, but the building could be really cool in this use. I actually used to live here and always thought it would be neat if the owner, Nancy Greene, re-purposed it for commercial use at some point. It'll be a tough road, since so few people work in the area to support the coffee shop in non-peak hours, but I'll certainly support 'em as much as I can (assuming the coffee doesn't suck).