Boulder Police Department's January 2025 Newsletter

Steve Redfearn, police chief

Happy New Year Boulder,

As we reflect on 2024 and all of the ups and downs, I can’t help but be incredibly grateful. In January 2024, I was chosen to be the interim police chief, and between the nine months as interim chief and the four months as the permanent chief, I had the honor of leading your Boulder Police Department for all of 2024.

As I look back on the year, my heart swells with pride at the accomplishments, milestones, and true difference that the men and women of this department have made in our community. In the year that I have been in the chief’s chair, I can honestly say that not a day goes by where I am not taken aback by the amazing work our staff does. Of course, it is done in conjunction with and for our amazing community.

One thing that has been abundantly clear to me in 2024 is that our community values the top-notch work our staff does every day and while our community has high expectations for policing in Boulder because we consistently live up to those expectations, the support is strong. This is one reason why I believe we are not struggling with the staffing issues that other cities struggle with, and why going into 2025, we are better staffed than we have been for at least a decade. I want to thank everyone in the community for the message being received loud and clear that Boulder supports its law enforcement and appreciates the work we do.

As I did in 2024 when I became interim, I wanted to share some priorities for 2025. In 2024, recruitment and retention were at the forefront of our efforts. While we constantly maintain eligibility lists for positions, recruitment is no longer one of our top priorities.

However, one of my biggest goals for 2025 is to retain the amazing staff that we have invested so much in. I am incredibly grateful that I received additional funding for employee wellness and training next year. These areas will have a direct impact on the quality of service our staff provides, and—in line with our Reimagine Policing plan—maintaining a well-trained and healthy workforce. That will have long-lasting positive impacts in Boulder.

Above are officers, dispatchers, Records employees and civilian staff members.

A priority that hasn’t changed since 2024 is community engagement. In 2024, our staff and I had the pleasure of meeting so many amazing people from all areas of our community, but I know there is more work to do. From attending the Eid dinner at the local mosque, the Juneteenth celebration at City Hall, or taking place in the visibility march during LGBTQ Pride, it was truly a great year of getting out and being more present in the community.

One ask I have for all of you is to keep inviting us to events happening in your neighborhood, at your business, or at schools. We have been working hard to identify new community liaisons in addition to our current LGBTQ+, Muslim, and Jewish liaisons. Soon we will be sharing information about our new liaisons to the African American and Hispanic communities.

Commander Winn waves with community members while walking in the Pride march in June.

Members of our Youth Opportunities Advisory Board meeting with officers.

One last priority for us in 2025 that will continue is increased transparency. Soon, we will be rolling out additional public-facing dashboards to compliment the several we currently have. In early 2025, watch for our new Use of Force and Stop (contact) Data dashboards that are currently in development and will show our community exactly what our data shows regarding these important topics.

Some of the Boulder Police information dashboards, which can be found on our website

With a new year comes a lot of new opportunities and possibilities. We don’t have it all figured out, so please continue to reach out with ideas and ways that we can better serve this community. We’re very excited to see what 2025 has in store for us and can’t wait to continue our partnerships with you!

In partnership,

Steve Redfearn, police chief

The work of the Boulder Police Department with members of the youth community is on the cover of this month's international Police Chief magazine.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police monthly publication focused on youth and community engagement for their January issue and chose an article co-authored by Chief Redfearn and Jennifer Ciplet, the city's senior communications manager for public safety and critical response, as their cover story.

Though the full article is behind a paywall, it can be found on the IACP's website here.

The article discusses the impacts of the removal of School Resource Officers as well as how BPD is working to better engage with youth.

If you think you've been seeing more DUI enforcement, you would be correct.

This past year alone, Boulder Police officers conducted nearly 50 percent more DUI enforcement than in 2023. The average number of DUI reports in the past 5 years has been 150, but this past year there have been 225 DUI reports. A single DUI report can include multiple DUI/Impairment charges or arrests depending on the circumstances.

“Impaired driving—whether by alcohol is drugs—is never acceptable and we will not tolerate it in our community. It’s a risk to everyone’s safety, and this is why DUI enforcement has been a priority for us in 2024,” Chief Redfearn said when discussing increased enforcement initiatives over the holidays.

That focus will continue this year.

The second call of the new year was for a report of people shooting guns in a large open field near Highway 119.

Officers gathered more information and found the suspects inside a nearby residence. Further investigation revealed that a man and a woman had used a rifle and a handgun to fire more than 30 rounds. Thankfully, no people or property appears to have been struck.

The suspects were taken to jail on misdemeanor charges of Disorderly Conduct/Discharge of a Firearm and Prohibited use of a Weapon.