From the Chief - December 2020

This has been quite a year. A worldwide pandemic shut down the country. No problem! You changed the way that you did business and succeeded. There are calls across the country to defund law enforcement. You welcomed open and honest discussions with those who stood against you. Public health orders seemed to have different requirements from week to week. You took that on and educated and enforced these orders in our community. Record-setting wildfires broke out across the state and even in our own backyard. You jumped in with both feet and provided help in so many ways.

It has felt like 2020 is just one big game of Jumanji. Around every turn, another crisis or emergency happened. But, with everything we have faced, you attacked it with the champion spirit and will that I knew you had.

In 2020, despite all of the challenges, we accomplished a lot of great things. We have installed cameras inside all of the patrol vehicles. We were invited to participate in several marches in Boulder and had a series of productive meetings with a group of CU Boulder students of color. We joined Boulder County for the implementation of enhanced 911. We completed the training center and were able to train our officers and others in Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT). Officers have also received lethality assessment training that is used to predict the likelihood that an abuser in a domestic violence situation will kill the person they are abusing. We continue to work towards the implementation of E-ticketing. Finally, we have been able to better secure our building so that you can be safe when you are in the building. This is by no means a comprehensive list. You have done amazing work this year!

In 2021, more exciting things are on the horizon. Patrol will now be in teams. This will allow for better continuity among the teams by working and training together for the entire year. We will be working and focusing on building an even better culture at CUPD. Finally, we will have a licensed clinician embedded with patrol to provide immediate, in-person assistance to people in crisis situations. This is all while moving towards completing strategic initiatives outlined in our strategic plan and moving towards national accreditation. We will have our own CUPD policy and procedures, to include standard operating procedures in respective divisions. This list again, is not even close to everything! 

I am so excited for where we are as a department and I am even more excited for where we are headed. I can not express to you how much you are valued for who you are and what you do for our department each and every day. 

On behalf of the command staff, I want to wish you a safe and happy holiday season. 

DJ