MONTE VISTA— 14,606 calls for service, 1,214 reports, 1,472 citations and 705 arrests were taken and made by the Monte Vista Police Department in 2018. When compared to 2017, calls for service and reports were down while citations and arrests were up. Monte Vista Police Chief John Rosecrans is hopeful these statistical trends are a result of crime being down in the community.
Rosecrans presented the police department’s year-end review at the Thursday, Jan. 17 meeting of the Monte Vista City Council. Rosecrans stated that the police department hosted and assisted several events throughout the year including the Easter Egg Hunt, Bicycle Safety rally, Ski Hi Stampede, Monte Vista High School Homecoming, Oktoberfest, Veterans Parade and the Holiday Festival Parade. He is also happy with adding Coffee with a Cop and the National Night Out.
Coffee with a Cop has proven to be a particularly popular event with community members. It is currently held on the second Saturday morning of every month at Mountain View Restaurant. “I’m generally there for citizens to come and see me; it’s not necessarily for me to see them. I do come with an agenda just so we have something to talk about in case no one has anything for me, but I truly do want to make myself available to the citizens. That way they can see me outside of my office,” he said.
Rosecrans also announced that on Saturday, March 2 a Valley-wide law enforcement leadership Coffee with a Cop would be held at Starbucks in Alamosa. “All 22 law enforcement agencies (from around the San Luis Valley) have been invited,” he said.
Another event that is a goal for the police department is having an active shooter training with the school district. There will be a training with the city next month and the hope is to have the school training by the end of this year. First responders will gain training value out of the events, and the training will be repeated in three months to hone their skills and response.
Commenting on the statistics presented Rosecrans said that he believes crime is down and that officers are issuing more quality citations rather than focusing on quantity. The reports written were a bit down in 2017, but Rosecrans is requiring his officers to write reports any time a crime is reported or committed. “It used to be optional, but I don’t think that is good for us or the citizens. If something goes south or there is a complaint then it helps me and the supervisors figure what was going on,” said Rosecrans.
Arrests are up, and this is likely indicative of a positive trend. “The only way for our arrests to be up is for us to be solving our crimes. I’m really proud of that,” stated Rosecrans.
The police chief also shared items from the administrative side of the police department. He is happy that there is leadership stability developing. It’s been a while since a promotion ceremony for sergeants and corporals has had to be held. The police department has been stable with two corporals and two sergeants. The department is currently short two officers, but will likely be making a new hire within the week.
A new code officer has also been extended an offer. The city has had an odd retention issue with code officers, going through three different officers within a few short months. “The bizarre side of that is that from what we can gather it has absolutely nothing to do with the city, the job, the pay or anything of that nature. They just needed to go for their own personal reasons. It’s been very hard on us. That’s a unique job. It has a learning curve. It’s an important job,” said Rosecrans.
Rosecrans stated that huge strides have been made in providing officers with personal equipment. He commended the city stating, “This is a place you should be really proud of your city, because you’re taking care of your officers the best that you can.” Cars, uniforms and equipment are in good and adequate condition.
Goals for 2019, according to Rosecrans are largely extensions and continuation of 2018 goals and accomplishments. The police department will continue to work on reducing property crimes, engaging the community, increasing staffing, building improvements, fleet additions, recruitment, retention and building relationships with other important organizations.