IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CRIME REPORTING

Hello everyone in the Pleasant Valley Neighborhood,

The Pleasant Valley Neighborhood Association Board contacted the Colorado Police Department Neighborhood Watch Officer regarding issues we are having in our area. He has responded with the following information. It is really important for everyone who has been a victim of a crime to report it to the police department. He has included the information on various ways to report since the phones often have long wait times. Just posting on Nextdoor and Facebook isn't enough, even though they are extremely helpful for your neighbors. The more reports they get, the better chance we have of getting more patrols in our area.

Also, anyone interested in the Neighborhood Watch Program and becoming a Block Captain, please let me know and we'll get that going. Right now we only seem to have one active Block Captain in our neighborhood.

Here's what Officer Wesley Wilkerson had to say:
Crime:  believe it or not, property crime is actually down citywide this year…though you all in Pleasant Valley would disagree!  We have seen a dramatic spike in violent crimes (homicides, assaults, robberies), but theft of property is lower than this time last year.  Part of that is possibly contributed to Covid-19 and the interruption of normal daily routines.  What we are seeing is an across the board LACK of proper reporting for minor crimes.  Frustrated with wait times on 444-7000, many residents have turned to social media to “report” crimes (Nextdoor, Ring, Facebook, etc.).   While I’m sure stuff is happening in your neighborhood, if citizens fail to properly report it we (CSPD) have no idea the crimes are occurring.  We are a data driven Police Department and allocate our extremely limited resources based upon the reporting that comes in from victims.  We will always attempt to address increased patrol presence in an given area, but when there is subsequent historical data to justify that increased patrol resource you will see it occur more often and with more vigor.  Please, please, encourage all of your neighbors to report any/all incidents so we can build that crime trend database properly.

Meeting:  I would love nothing more than to attend a meeting with you all so you can see the face behind the badge, but we are still trying to follow Covid-19 guidelines to the best of our ability.  Unfortunately, that means limited face-to-face interaction unless it is during the course of an investigation.  I hope that changes in the near future.

In the meantime, please pass any of this information around your neighborhood for everyone to use.  I am impressed with Pleasant Valley’s sense of purpose with trying to reclaim your neighborhood and, as I stated before, we will do everything within our power to help you succeed.
  1. Reporting a Crime or Concern:
There are several methods that a citizen can report a crime or concern to the Colorado Springs Police Department.  A simplified list of the most frequently utilized are:
  1. 911 (emergency only)
  2. 719-444-7000 (non-emergency)
  3. Online @ https://coloradosprings.gov/police-department/page/report-crime-online?mlid=4841 (minor crimes only).
  4. GoCOS! online @ https://coloradosprings.gov/page/citizen-request-gocosprings-app or via the GoCOS! app (Citizen portal for Questions, Requests, or Concerns)
  5. Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers online @ https://www.crimestop.net/ or via 719-634-STOP (7867)
Please see the attached document labeled “1. Reporting a Crime or Concern” for additional information on each method.
  1. Myneighborhoodupdate:
This particular website will show you all police events in and around your neighborhood by using a simple website interface.  Navigate to  www.myneighborhoodupdate.net and simply enter your address into the top line, select Search, and it will automatically plot all calls for service from the last 30 days around the address you input. The date can be adjusted to look back for up to an entire year and you can select/unselect particular types of calls for service. This webpage also allows the user to chart/graph all crimes in your neighborhood, information which some of our Neighborhood Watch Block Captains have utilized in their Neighborhood newsletters to keep their neighbors informed of crime in the area.  Please see the attached document labeled “2. Myneighborhoodupdate” for step-by-step instructions on utilizing the webpage.
  1. Nextdoor:
The Colorado Springs Police Department utilizes several social media platforms to keep the public informed, one of which is the website/application known as Nextdoor ( www.nextdoor.com).  In addition, officers will sometimes utilize these platforms to further investigative efforts related to suspected criminal activity.  Your Crime Prevention Officers frequent Nextdoor at least weekly to “get a feel” for their respective neighborhoods and to search for possible unreported criminal activity that neighbors are discussing.  We also attempt to post weekly a Crime Prevention or other police related topic via the official Colorado Springs Police Department page to Nextdoor for the entire city’s consumption.  We do this in an effort to reach as broad of an audience as possible and to educate the public on crime patterns, trends, and safety awareness.  We encourage you and your neighbors, friends, family, etc., to subscribe to the Colorado Springs Police Department feed on Nextdoor to stay abreast of happenings within the city.  Please see the attached document labeled “3. Nextdoor” for step-by-step instructions on subscribing to our feed.
  1. Neighbors by Ring
Neighbors is Ring's app-based neighborhood watch feature that alerts you to crime and safety events in a radius up to 5 miles around your home. Neighbors is built into the Ring app, which you use with Amazon's Ring doorbells, Ring cameras, the Ring Alarm system, and even Ring Smart Lights, but you do  NOT need to own a Ring device or have a paid subscription to their services to utilize Neighbors in order to stay informed  of what is happening around your address.  By downloading the application and setting up a username/password, you will get real-time crime and safety alerts from your neighbors and public safety agencies, always know when and where things are happening in your area, and share updates to keep you and your community informed. The Neighbors App uses your address to create a radius around your home (you can later adjust the radius). If anyone shares an alert on the app about crime or safety within that radius, you’ll get a notification via the app. Conversely, if you share an alert on the app about a crime or safety issue in your radius, your neighbors will also get a notification. You can then comment on these alerts to provide additional information about local issues, give tips to avoid affected areas, share photos or videos to help neighbors stay on the lookout, etc.  Please see the attached document labeled “4. Neighbors by Ring” for further information on the application. 
  1. Springs TV
SpringsTV is committed to serving the people of Colorado Springs by providing an outlet for citizens to stay in touch with their City Government and by producing quality video programming that informs the public about local activities, issues, and culture.  You can find the channel on Comcast Channel 18 and 880 (HD) and Century Link Channel 18.  Alternatively, you can navigate to Springs TV via  https://coloradosprings.gov/city-communications/page/springstv-18 or through Vimeo at  https://vimeo.com/coloradosprings.  Please see the attached document labeled “5. Springs TV” for further information on the two viewing options.

Ofc. Wesley Wilkerson, #5222
Colorado Springs Police Dept.
Crime Prevention Officer, Gold Hill Division
955 W. Moreno Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO  80905
Office:  719-385-2117