Colfax-Havana safety plan shows early success, challenges in Aurora

Aurora Police Department's new safety initiative for Colfax Avenue and Havana is seeing early progress and some challenges. In response to heightened community concerns, APD created a 90-day plan to address area crime.

The plan, which began about a month ago, aims to create a safer environment for residents and businesses. APD says issues include theft, drug sales, prostitution, trespassing, aggressive panhandling, public inebriation and an increase in violent crime.

APD District 1 Commander Patrick Shaker reports a steady decrease in both observed criminal activity and 911 calls since the initiative's launch.

"The 90-day plan is a starting point," Shaker explained. "It's not about solving everything within three months but about establishing a foundation for ongoing improvement with sustained community involvement."

The initiative includes increased patrols and community engagement, such as resource fairs to activate and support local spaces. APD says the Colfax and Havana intersection presents unique challenges due to its role as a major transit hub and the high concentration of businesses.

Shaker emphasized the importance of continued collaboration with community members and business owners.

"We need their input and their help to figure out what can work if this doesn't," Shaker said. "We are here. As an agency, we are committed to the community, and we are going to keep working at this."

Despite their efforts, reactions from local business owners have been mixed.

CBS Colorado spoke with a business owner who has had at a store nearby for 20 years. She asked to remain anonymous for her safety.

"Every day [customers] ask us if we are not scared to be working in there. We are," the owner said. "I'm not saying that the police are not doing their job. They are doing their job," she said. "They are doing what they can. They need more personnel. They need stronger laws and harsher punishments for those involved in drug dealing."

She hired private security for her business in the evening. 

Mayor Mike Coffman recently met with small business owners struggling to survive near Iola and Colfax, one block from Havana. 

In a Facebook post following the visit, he writes, "I fully understand that we are still short of officers in APD, but we are also closing the gap through larger police academy classes, and I want to make sure that we have a strategy in place, as we become fully staffed, where we do not surrender a single block to the criminal element in this city."

The business owner we spoke with says crime from Havana has been displaced to nearby streets.

"They push them from one place, and they come over here. Simply pushing the problem from one place to another isn't helping anyone." she said. "There needs to be a more comprehensive solution."

Shaker says APD anticipated the displacement, and they're working on solutions to address the problem.

He says APD had another task force in the past that was successful on the Colfax corridor. They're still establishing a foundation here for improvement.

"If the initial efforts do not achieve the desired results, we will adapt our approach and continue to engage with the community to find solutions," Shaker said.

APD says they will do a reassessment of their progress every 30 days.    

The business owner fears it's already too late.

"I've been searching for a place already," she said in tears. "If Walmart had to close, what about little businesses?"