Denver City Wire

DENVER – Without overall strategic guidance, formalized community policing strategy, a clear understanding of low retention, and improved recruiting efforts that encourage a diverse police force, the Denver Police Department could continue to struggle with developing the strong partnerships necessary for public trust, according to a new report from Denver Auditor Timothy M. O’Brien, CPA.

“Denver’s police department needs a clear plan to address community policing efforts, recruiting, low morale, and loss of officers — especially among women and people of color,” Auditor O’Brien said.

Locally and nationwide, several events — including the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 and the subsequent police response to racial justice protests — have put a strain on relationships between communities and law enforcement.

However, as the Denver Police Department joins other departments across the country in reexamining policing, uses of force, and police-community relations — it lacks some key planning and analysis to support success.

Community policing

Community policing involves police officers spending a portion of their work time proactively addressing public safety by spending dedicated time in Denver’s neighborhoods as a means to build more positive relationships with community members.

Strategies for community policing include: systematically and proactively addressing social harms in the community, one-on-one interactions with community members and young people, and meeting a department goal for officers to spend 35% of their workday on community policing efforts.

Department leaders assert that they cannot formalize a community policing plan because it isn’t measurable, but policing best practices recommend such specific strategic planning and the U.S. Department of Justice has helped other cities formalize such plans. Meanwhile, staffing shortages make it difficult for the police department to commit officers’ time to proactive community policing efforts.

Without a comprehensive strategy for community policing, the department’s efforts will remain siloed across the city and Denver police officers will have a harder time healing their relationships with the people they serve.

Staffing and retention

A 2022 study of policing best practices says police departments must reinforce and repair relationships with the community — by creating a “felt presence” — before they can address conditions that impact how the public perceives safety and crime.

If the Denver Police Department does not achieve its recruitment goals, the department will continue to face staffing shortages and it will be less prepared to provide effective services to the city — which could put officers and community members at risk.

While many issues contribute to staff turnover in police agencies, the department lacks adequate strategies to address aspects of low retention that are within its control, such as a lack of diversity among officers, increased stress from staffing shortages, and low morale.

Understaffing puts a strain on police agencies, reducing officers’ availability to respond to 911 calls and impairing their wellbeing. It also limits the time officers can spend in the community rebuilding trust and relationships with the people they serve.

Morale and diversity

We surveyed officers about morale, and many common causes for low morale included burnout, poor leadership, low staffing, and officers feeling undervalued.

Other reported outside factors that officers mentioned included changes to state law since 2020 that require all officers to wear body-worn cameras and that removed qualified immunity. They also shared concern about the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd, and a negative public perception toward law enforcement.

While many of these factors are not within the department’s purview to change, concerns like low retention within the department could be addressed in part by improving diversity among officers and improving culture.

When we compared demographic data for Denver to the city’s roughly 700 patrol officers, we noted the race and ethnicity of patrol officers closely reflects the city’s residents. However, our analysis revealed notable disparities in gender. While women represent half of the city’s population, they comprise less than 19% of Denver’s patrol officers.

Results from the city’s 2022 employee engagement survey also indicate a perception of unfair practices within the police department. Specifically, the survey asked whether “employees are treated fairly… regardless of differences in race, gender, and age.” Only 58.3% of police department employees responded favorably.

When asked whether “career growth depends on experience and skill rather than personal background characteristics” including race, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, and religion, only 45.2% of police department employees responded favorably.

“Supporting diversity and a sense of belonging in the police department could help improve overall policing culture in the city,” Auditor O’Brien said.

Key takeaway

Without better strategic guidance for community policing and better recruitment and retention efforts, the Denver Police Department will remain understaffed. This could put officers’ safety, health, and wellness at risk, as well as risk community members’ safety.

We made recommendations related to all of these areas, plus ways to improve officers’ access to in-house physical therapy and mental health services. The department also needs more consistent processes for monitoring officers’ time worked.

The audit team will follow up in the future to determine whether the department took action as we recommended and as it agreed to. We encourage the department to take the additional steps necessary. 

• Read the Audit
• Read the "Audit at a Glance
• Original source can be found here