Crime was down nearly seven percent in the third quarter of 2010 when compared to the third quarter of 2009, according to the Law Enforcement Authority's Third Quarter Report to commissioners.

 

The Sheriff's Office reported 2,104 crime incidents in the third quarter of 2010, compared to 2,262 in 2009 and 2,465 in 2008. Although some crime categories were up, including assault, robbery and fraud, several categories had dropped, including burglary, theft and mischief.

 

Sheriff Ted Mink presented the third quarter report at the commissioners meeting. Other items of interest include:

 

• The Sheriff's Office created an operations plan and tracked down copper thieves who on seven separate occasions over the summer stole large amounts of copper and tools from a locked Xcel property in Evergreen. Deputies conducted extra patrols and surveillance, planted a GPS device on copper spools and reviewed security camera footage. On October 10, deputies caught three suspects in the process of stealing copper wire. Two were arrested right away; the third was tracked by a K-9 and arrested.
• On August 2, a grass fire began along C-470 near Morrison Road that quickly burned 277 acres of the Dakota Ridge. West Metro firefighters and Sheriff's Office emergency management staff worked together to manage the fire response and traffic control.
• As part of the ongoing partnership between the Sheriff's Office and Jefferson County R-1 Schools, the schools conducted emergency drills this fall with school resource officers observing. The drills involve lockdowns, lockouts and evacuations using the "Standard Response Protocol" developed by John Michael Keyes, father of Platte Canyon High School shooting victim Emily Keyes. 
• The Sheriff's Office began a "lecture and release" program as part of the Model Traffic Code to reduce unsafe driving in high-accident areas. This consists of issuing a summons with an explanation by the officer of why the patrol officers are in that area and what the driver did wrong to better educate the public and try to improve driving habits. Sheriff Mink started this program to provide "a more positive interaction" between patrol officers and citizens.
  • Commissioner McCasky stated that he had been given feedback recently by three different citizens involved in a lecture and release situation. "They appreciated the tactic and said they have changed their driving habits as a result of that experience - more so than if they had just received a ticket."

For more information about the Law Enforcement Authority's Third Quarter Report, visit the Sheriff's Office website.

Fatherhood Initiative Excels with County and Community Partnerships

The Board of County Commissioners heard from Ray Washington, the Department of Human Services' Fatherhood Program Manager, and a client, Fabian, about the strides the Fatherhood Program has been making in the lives of those who participate. The goal of the program is to help fathers positively participate in their children's lives, their Child Welfare cases, and improve their payment of child support.

 

Administered by the Child Support Services Program, the Jeffco Fatherhood Program focuses on fragile families, addresses barriers linked to poverty, promotes responsible fatherhood by leveraging partnerships for fathers, including job opportunities, parenting classes, relationship and employment skills, parenting plans, mediation and mentorship, to name a few. Research indicates that the lack of access to direct services for low-income, non-residential fathers contributes to inconsistent financial support, deficient father involvement and poor social outcomes for the children.

 

Our outcomes to date include:

• Increased access to dads for about 100 children;
• Quarterly workshops and weekly coaching/training sessions;
• At least $1,000,000 in child support for children who were not previously receiving financial support from their fathers in 2010.
  

 

West Metro Fire to Add 12 County Properties to Service Area

The BCC approved the petition to include 12 county properties in the West Metro Fire Protection District, ten of which are within Jefferson County Open Space where there is currently no legal responsibility for fire protection.

 

The West Metro Fire Protection District approached Jefferson County Open Space with the proposal to clarify fire protection responsibilities for the properties. Various fire agencies voluntarily provide fire protection, but this petition identifies West Metro as the official responding agency. In order to include two of the 12 properties, they must first be excluded from Inter-Canyon Fire Protection District. Neither district will charge the county any fee for processing the petitions.

 

 

BCC Approves Contract for New Web Content Management System

The Board of County Commissioners approved the contract with Ektron Inc. in the amount of $259,608 for software and implementation of a Web Content Management System (WCMS). This amount reflects a cost reduction of $220,712 achieved through negotiations with the vendor.

 

The WCMS will enable county staff to create websites, both for employees (Intranet) and the public (Internet), in which existing content can be dynamically changed to draw users back to county sites. Those sites will be designed in an easy-to-use way, with a powerful search tool and a behind the scenes workflow that makes website maintenance more efficient.

 

The Purchasing division issues a Request for Proposal and invited 18 firms to participate. Of the nine responses received, Ektron's proposal was determined to offer the county the best value; will provide the tools and features necessary for the county to meet its short and long-term goals for the Internet and Intranet; and position Jefferson County well for further strategic opportunities for online citizen and employee engagement.