Get to Know Your Boulder Police Department

Steve Redfearn, police chief

Happy late summer, Boulder.

I hope that everyone has been able to enjoy some outdoor activities, vacations, or some needed fun before our students returned to school excitement is in the air with new and returning students at CU, and CU Football is about to kick off (pun intended) again. 

We have been busy as ever, and I continue to be proud of the work our team is doing. The data continues to show declining crime rates in every category year to date compared to 2024.

Currently, our focus is on Back to School operations involving a large presence in and around University Hill. We are doing our best to support the students' enjoyment of Boulder while also setting expectations about what conduct is appropriate or not. You can see some of that in a social media “ride along” we did this past weekend with officers on the Hill. Just click on the "Officer Geib" ride along highlight on our Instagram profile. Some photos from the ride along, which was more of a walk along, are below.

A sergeant and officers look for underage drinking and open container violations on the Hill and write tickets to violators.

This month, I want to address a topic that has been the subject of a lot of discussion and scrutiny nationwide lately: the use of Flock license plate readers. We have had great success with this tool, and I believe there is a direct correlation with our license plate readers and a drastic decrease in motor vehicle thefts in Boulder. We are currently seeing a 30 percent reduction in motor vehicle theft year-to-date compared to 2024, and Flock is one of the reasons behind that reduction. 

We have had a Flock Transparency Portal on our website for just over a year now and recently we updated it with new information about our use of Flock given some of the national conversations. I wanted to share that with you so you can read for yourself about how we are and aren’t using this tool. More information can be found on our website.

I want you to hear from me that I am a firm believer in using technology to solve and reduce crime, and to work smarter and safer in doing so. We will continue to monitor all technology, solicit and listen to feedback, and, as needed, pivot and make changes. Our priority is keeping the public safe and reducing crime, and we will use best practices, technology, and resources to do so. We want to send a message to criminals and would-be criminals that if they come to Boulder to victimize our community, we will use a variety of tools—including the latest technology—to help us find and arrest them 

A Flock license plate reader.

Switching gears, if you saw our social media recently, you likely saw that a couple of times a month, I will now have a staff member accompanying me for a day. Last month, we had our first “Chief for a Day”, an idea I borrowed from my good friend, Chief Jason Lando of the Frederick, Maryland Police Department.

Any member of our department can apply to be “Chief for a Day” to see what it’s like to lead a police department. So far, a police officer and one of our 911 dispatchers have been the first two employees to sign up, and it’s been fun. We will highlight future chiefs for a day on our social media. 

Patrol Officer Santos, in uniform, loads his firearm with Chief Redfearn before they complete mandatory firearms training on the range.

Dispatcher Valentic poses for a photo with Boulder County Sheriff Johnson and Chief Redfearn after a meeting.

One last thing I want to cover this month. Considering incidents occurring around the country, we recently decided to be proactive and took the lead in filming a video that nearly all county agencies participated in. This video is designed to show what Boulder County law enforcement uniforms and cars look like, discuss standards regarding identification and nametags, and talk about what to do if you are uncertain if someone is actually law enforcement.

We hope this is helpful and provides some peace of mind. Watch the video: How Do You Recognize a Real Police Officer—Boulder County Edition

As students return to schools in our city please remember to be more vigilant of bicycles and pedestrians, and make sure you pay closer attention when out and about. We are looking forward to a great fall season. 

We will be here if you need us. Stay safe out there, Boulder. 

Steve Redfearn, police chief
 

We have been publicizing several of the arrests that started as a result of a Flock hit and this was one of them. 

On Aug. 21 officers were notified when a stolen car entered the city and swiftly coordinated to find and block the vehicle from leaving after it was found at a business on Baseline.

Officers took the man and woman into custody and further investigation revealed a half a pound of meth, fentanyl and other drug paraphernalia in the car. 

The individuals were booked into the jail on charges of felony motor vehicle theft, felony drug possession, felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, criminal possession of a financial device and criminal violation of a protection order.

Our longtime Unmanned Aircraft System (drone team) has increased its response to daily calls throughout the city, providing increased protection for both community members and first responders.

On this call, officers received a report of a man trying to break into a building with a knife on Folsom. Air 1 was first on scene within one minute of the call and showed officers three individuals on the north side of the building. All three began to scatter as they heard the sirens of approaching officers.

As officers arrived on scene they immediately arrested one suspect, but the other two took off on bicycles. Air 1 kept eyes on both suspects, providing real time locations to responding officers until they were able to arrest them both at 26th and Walnut. One suspect had a felony drug warrant out of the county and charges are pending against the individuals involved. 

You can learn more about our Drone Team via our website.

Boulder Police Department home page: bouldercolorado.gov/government/departments/police