True crime
Local law enforcement dispels ‘Mayberry’ myth

A police car sits idle outside the Durango Police station recently. Despite common belief that Durango is safe from crime, statistics show that crime rates here are on par with other cities across the nation of our size. According to new Police Chief David Felice, many crimes are ones of “opportunity,” where houses are left open, keys left in cars or bikes left unlocked. However, as Durango grows, so will its share of big city crimes, such as robbery and assault./Photo David Halterman

by Jeff Mannix

There’s one thing new Durango Police Chief David Felice has heard over and over since taking the helm five months ago: “I always hear, ‘This is Durango’ … meaning we have little crime and not much to be concerned with when it comes to personal and property protection.”

However, Felice begs to differ. “That’s not entirely true. There’s always been crime in Durango, and it’s growing predictably as the population grows. Folks need to rest that phrase.”

Many Durangoans don’t even know where a key to their front door is, leave their keys inside their unlocked cars and don’t think twice about leaving their laptop on a table while fetching a cup of coffee. Indeed, a quick examination of pickup truck beds in a local parking lot reveals a cache of unlocked valuables ranging from hand and power tools to welding units, snow blowers, suitcases, gas cans, groceries and dogs.

But Felice warns there’s more to lose than the token handful of bicycles and occasional pair of skis.

“Let’s look at the statistics,” Felice suggests. According to him, Durango Police respond to an average of 35,000 calls per year. While not all calls are for crimes, Durango still ranks 35th out of 152 Colorado municipalities of any size for crime. And in towns of similar size across the nation – 346 matches – Durango is 169th in total crimes, and 76th in violent crime. “This is not a crime-free community,’’ Felice concludes.

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, Durango had 74 crimes of violence in 2007 – 24 forcible rapes, 43 aggravated assaults, one murder and six robberies. In 2008, Felice notes, Durango had: 27 sexual assaults; 18 “other” sexual offenses; nine robberies – four recent ones at gunpoint; seven4 assaults on police officers; 165 personal assaults; 123 cases of family violence; 532 disorderly conduct calls; 472 criminal mischief calls; 21 menacing complaints; 282 harassment/stalking/reckless endangerment calls; 402 criminal trespass complaints; 35 forgery reports; 242 fraud/identity thefts; 13 weapons offenses; and two kidnappings.

Those numbers definitely meet the qualification of real crime. But when property crimes are reviewed, the numbers become even more alarming. In 2007, there were 916 property crimes – 89 burglaries, 778 thefts, 49 stolen motor vehicles, and four arsons. “In 2008, we responded to 125 burglaries, 691 thefts and 72 motor vehicle thefts,” Felice reports. “Durango is 45th in property crimes in all cities this size (346) in the country.”

The Durango Police Department covers 10 square miles with a population of 15,785. Sixty-three officers are employed to patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Vail has 26 cops for a population of 4,622; that’s 177 people per officer,” Felice observes. “Durango serves 297 people per officer, and when you figure that Durango swells each day, from tourists and workers coming into town from the county, to somewhere around 30,000, each officer is responsible to 566 people. That’s a lot of people and a lot that can go wrong.”

When you turn from crimes of stealth to lawless motor-vehicle driving – which really has more potential to impact just about everybody – crime in Durango soars. It is a common estimation that traffic patrols catch only 10 percent of delinquent drivers, so statistics can be multiplied by 10 to assess the real risk of driving in Durango. “In 2008, we had 1,241 traffic accidents,” Felice reads from a recent accounting. “Forty-six involved injury, and there were 796 damage reports and 274 hit-and-run incidents.” Officers stopped 8,214 vehicles last year, issuing 2,004 citations, 5,151 oral warnings, 769 written warnings, and made 209 DUI/DWAI arrests. Only 28 percent of those stopped get tickets, Felice calculates, proudly pointing out officer discretion.

“I don’t think Durango is as safe as people think,” Felice says. “We’re above average for both property crimes and assault, but I don’t think crime is up much per capita from historic levels. Durango is a safe community generally, and people can prevent much of the victimization. Don’t present temptation. Most property crimes are crimes of opportunity.”

Given the statistics, Felice says he is surprised that Durango doesn’t have even one neighborhood watch group, which, he says emphatically, is unusual for any community. “Neighborhood watch groups work as an extension of law enforcement,” he says. “They work as eyes and ears for police, and they prevent crime and allow us to apprehend criminals. We just can’t be everywhere all the time.”

Outside city limits, the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office covers 1,685 square miles of dedicated roadway as well as roads inside subdivisions. The department employs 93 sworn officers, six investigators and a total of 130 people, including jailers and office staff. Four sworn officers are patrolling the county at any given time.

“We worked 1,700 cases in 2007,” reports La Plata County Sheriff spokesman Dan Bender, “We see everything out there, but we answer more domestic violence calls and stay pretty busy with motor vehicle accidents and driving under the influence.”

Bender goes on to report a slight rise in the amount of local crime, saying, “I don’t see crime increasing any more than what’s expected with an increasing population. The recent armed robberies do catch the public’s attention. Crime sprees are rare but do come along every once in a while.”

Bender adds, “Last year you’ll remember that we had a rash of vacation home break-ins. Property crimes are on the rise, and right now it’s too soon to say whether it’s population or economy related.”

If the population of the La Plata County jail is any indication of criminal activity, it is definitely time to start locking the car and home. “In 1997, the population of our jail was 45,” reports jail commander Captain Michael Slade. “Today we’re housing 170.”

Most jail inmates, however, are awaiting trial or sentencing, says Slade. “But we are seeing more violent crimes, more people with lengthy criminal histories, and more meth abusers and traffickers. We’re a high drug-use area, but a lot of our drug busts are traveling though. La Plata County is on what you might call a drug highway.’’

The one comforting epilogue to the obvious rising crime story in our little burg is that there are only four roads leading in and out of Durango and only a few more exits throughout the rest of the county. Property crimes, as Chief Felice points out, are crimes of opportunity. So being boxed in here in Durango, perhaps the first, and best, line of defense is to get a dog, befriend a dull, sober person to drive when you’ve been drinking and put a lock on that bike. And, as the old ranchers say, “Trust everyone but brand your calves.” •