Trevor Phipps
Local law enforcement agencies have established a good working relationship, enabling them to crack down on major crimes in the Teller high country.
However, despite this impressive success in recording lower crime rates, drug cartels and fentanyl woes remain a major threat to mountain communities. These were some of the messages conveyed during a recent town hall meeting, held at the Woodland Park City Council Chambers.
The May 20 event, hosted by Crime Stoppers of the Pikes Peak Area, featured Teller County Commission Chairman Dan Williams, Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen, Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell, Woodland Park Police Chief Chris Deisler and Don Addy with Pikes Peak (PP) Area Crime Stoppers
Michael Allen spoke about the district attorney’s (DA) role in keeping criminals accountable. He said the DA works directly with local law enforcement agency to establish probable cause to make an arrest.
According to Allen, the Fourth Judicial District has a higher ratio of filing charges against criminals, based on preliminary evidence, than other districts in the state. “We file over 90 percent of the cases presented to us by law enforcement in the Fourth Judicial District,” Allen said. “By comparison, the other big city in the state is Denver, and they are down at around 35 to 40 percent of the cases that are presented to them by law enforcement that are filed.”
Allen stressed how collaboration across the region, with agencies such as the DA’s office, local law enforcement agencies and the Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers organization helps keep communities safe. This point was emphasized by other law enforcement leaders at the town hall meeting.
Sheriff Jason Mikesell outlined how the county has changed over the 27 years he has been a law enforcement officer. When he started, the county had just 3,500 residents and 14 deputies. Now the county has around 30,000 residents with 100,000 people inside the county at any one time for recreation and other purposes. The sheriff’s office now is equipped with about 120 employees.
The bottom line is crime-related call volumes have drastically increased within the county, and the area now experiences more serious crimes, similar to what occurs in big cities. “We have had a massive increase in call volumes,” Mikesell said. “Just this year, we have already received a 25 percent increase in call volumes than what we had at this time last year. Our call volume numbers are close to what the city of Fountain does on a daily basis.”
Chief Deisler told the crowd that as soon as he was being considered for the police chief position, he reached out and talked to stakeholders in the community including the sheriff. As a result of these collaboration efforts, the Woodland Park Police Department and the Teller County Sheriff’s Office have had a good relationship working together.
“At the end of the day what we focus on is a one-county philosophy,” Deisler said. “Yes, I am the city police chief, but we cross over daily on more than one occasion. The idea is when you need help you don’t care what color the uniform is, you just want someone to show up.”
According to Addy, the PP Area Crime Stoppers is a non-profit organization that has no employees and is run completely through volunteers and donations. “We operate a call service platform that allows citizens who know something about a criminal act or a wanted person to call that number or get on that web page and provide information to us and remain completely anonymous forever,” Addy said. “And that’s important because many times when people know something, they don’t want the felon to know they know. And they certainly don’t want the felon to know they called the police.”
Crime Stoppers takes the anonymous tips it receives in El Paso and Teller counties and connects this information to the proper law enforcement desk, based on the nature of the tip. If that tip leads to an arrest of a criminal, Crime Stoppers gives that person a reward. According to Addy, the reward is given in cash, and a representative tells the tipster where they can find the envelope with cash to keep the process 100 percent anonymous.
The sheriff and the police chief said that Crime Stoppers is a popular avenue for residents to give tips about crimes. That is because most of the time a law enforcement agency has to abide by set procedures in taking down the names of people who report crimes. And while the Teller County Sheriff’s Office has a way people can send anonymous tips on their website, some people don’t trust that process. They fear that they may not be able to remain anonymous. Also, some prefer to report to the Crime Stoppers organization specifically for the possible reward they may receive.
The Pikes Peak Area Crime Stopper chapter was launched in 1981. Since the group’s formation, they have assisted in more than 300,000 arrests. In the process the organization has recovered huge amounts of money, stolen merchandise and drugs. The organization also supplies tips to the community when they post regularly regarding the area’s most wanted criminals. The organization receives more than 140 tips per month, and last year this information contributed to 34 arrests.
