Caught on camera: Wheat Ridge police credit full staffing for recent theft arrests

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (KDVR) — Newly released body-worn camera footage shows Wheat Ridge police catching suspects accused of trying to steal cars, phones and store products.

Fueling up at the pump recently took a turn for a driver in Wheat Ridge. He called the police to report someone trying to get into his driver's seat.

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"We got a good suspect description and somebody was able to see that suspect go into some neighborhoods to the east of that area," Wheat Ridge Police Public Information Officer Alex Rose said.

Footage shows, an officer finding and taking that suspect into custody. WRPD said within minutes, the officer responded to the call and spotted the suspect as he threw a bag over a nearby fence. Police found three stolen cell phones in that bag.

"Because we have a fully staffed patrol team, that really helped with our response time here," Rose said. "In general, the level of the property crime is dependent on the value of the item. So those three cell phones bump it up to a felony level theft because the threshold is $2,000 worth of goods."

WRPD credits adequate staffing and another community member's quick call with a good description of a recent shoplifting arrest. Body camera footage from this arrest shows officers tracking down a suspect on a Regional Transportation Department bus.

"Having members of the community who are just frankly sick of seeing this repeatedly over and over and calling us and saying, 'Hey, I've seen this guy. He walked straight out of the store,'" Rose said. "If we have an officer in that area when that happens, we can take advantage of that opportunity being in the right place at the right time."

Rose says the department can fan out officers in hot spot areas to focus on crimes impacting Wheat Ridge at the highest rates.

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"We've seen a 10% increase in theft in Wheat Ridge so far this year," Rose said. "Last year, it was a five-year high. We have more people on the streets, and then we can use those resources to be proactive."

Rose said the authorized strength for the city of Wheat Ridge is 87 sworn officers. With the department's latest academy class of six, they have 89 officers.

FOX31 reached out to the Denver Police Department and Aurora Police Department for the latest staffing data. According to officials, DPD has an authorized strength of 1,639 sworn personnel. The department currently has 1,452 sworn staff, with an additional 85 recruits in the Academy. Aurora is authorized 748 sworn officers and currently has 75 vacancies.