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Police aided by civilians, other agencies
  
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By Nicole Chillino
Editor’s note: This is part two of a series examining each of Monument’s departments with respect to the 2010 budget.
The police department makes up about 36 percent of Monument’s general fund.
Training, caring personnel and educational programs are essential elements for the Monument Police Department.
“You have a group of people who really do want to be here,” said Monument Police Sgt. Steve Burk. “They could go elsewhere, but they don’t.”
The most recent addition to the department is a 30-year veteran from Los Angeles, he said. The staff consists of 13 full-time officers, one part-time officer, one reserve officer and five civilians.
Officers undergo constant training, including hitting the shooting range four times per year, Burk said, adding the tactical team goes more frequently.
Officers also are required to know the department’s policies and procedures, he said. The department’s pursuit policy is restrictive, because pursing criminals can cause trouble for agencies. The instant one is over, the pursuit is reviewed to find out how it went, so the pursuit tactics can be adapted based on the outcome.
Monument Police take case reports for felony crimes, Burk said. The number of reports taken has declined in the last couple years, which some believe is the result of catching criminals who were repeatedly causing problems in town.
While pursuits are rare, traffic enforcement is quite common for the department, with 21 percent of its case reports being related to traffic, he said.
Many of the department’s calls for service are non-emergent, for which the department’s average response time is between 7 and 10 minutes, Burk said.
In addition to going after the criminal element and responding to non-emergent calls, the department offers several services to its residents, such as a personal safety class, inspecting the safety of homes and teaching youth and adults about Internet safety.
The department also works closely with the community and other agencies.
“We rely on the community to tell us things just as much as we rely on our own intelligence,” Burk said.
The department also cooperates with other law enforcement agencies and the fire department, he said. Monument works with Palmer Lake, the Colorado State Patrol, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and a seven-county regional response team. The local agencies help one another with calls for service and share information.
In the future, the department will continue to build internal and external procedures, offer training to the public and the department, and to address crime not only in Monument, but in the surrounding area, Burk said.
“What happens in Woodmoor affects us,” he said.
The police department makes up about 36 percent of Monument’s general fund.
Training, caring personnel and educational programs are essential elements for the Monument Police Department.
“You have a group of people who really do want to be here,” said Monument Police Sgt. Steve Burk. “They could go elsewhere, but they don’t.”
The most recent addition to the department is a 30-year veteran from Los Angeles, he said. The staff consists of 13 full-time officers, one part-time officer, one reserve officer and five civilians.
Officers undergo constant training, including hitting the shooting range four times per year, Burk said, adding the tactical team goes more frequently.
Officers also are required to know the department’s policies and procedures, he said. The department’s pursuit policy is restrictive, because pursing criminals can cause trouble for agencies. The instant one is over, the pursuit is reviewed to find out how it went, so the pursuit tactics can be adapted based on the outcome.
Monument Police take case reports for felony crimes, Burk said. The number of reports taken has declined in the last couple years, which some believe is the result of catching criminals who were repeatedly causing problems in town.
While pursuits are rare, traffic enforcement is quite common for the department, with 21 percent of its case reports being related to traffic, he said.
Many of the department’s calls for service are non-emergent, for which the department’s average response time is between 7 and 10 minutes, Burk said.
In addition to going after the criminal element and responding to non-emergent calls, the department offers several services to its residents, such as a personal safety class, inspecting the safety of homes and teaching youth and adults about Internet safety.
The department also works closely with the community and other agencies.
“We rely on the community to tell us things just as much as we rely on our own intelligence,” Burk said.
The department also cooperates with other law enforcement agencies and the fire department, he said. Monument works with Palmer Lake, the Colorado State Patrol, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and a seven-county regional response team. The local agencies help one another with calls for service and share information.
In the future, the department will continue to build internal and external procedures, offer training to the public and the department, and to address crime not only in Monument, but in the surrounding area, Burk said.
“What happens in Woodmoor affects us,” he said.
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