Broomfield police report falling crime rates, expand response and prevention efforts including new "blue envelope" program

Broomfield Police Chief Anaya Hempelman told the City and County of Broomfield council at a study session that overall property and violent crime have trended downward and that the department is expanding programs aimed at behavioral‑health response and street‑racing enforcement.

Hempelman said the department’s analysis of Colorado Bureau of Investigation data shows a decline in total property crime and low violent‑crime rates: “About 1 person is a victim per 1,000 resident on violent crimes,” she said, and cited a 2024 total‑crime rate of 21.92 per 1,000 residents, down from 26.07 in 2023. She also noted that robbery sits at 0.06 per 1,000 and that larceny was the highest property category at 5.93 per 1,000.

The figures provide context for how the department is reallocating resources. Deputy Chief Mark Cadell described investigative and communications improvements and said new digital forensics tools helped secure a first‑degree murder conviction; Cadell also reported that Broomfield’s dispatch met the national standard of answering 90% of 911 calls within 15 seconds, with the department answering 99.7% of calls within that window in 2024 and handling more than 11,009 911 calls so far this year. Cadell said the department’s co‑responder team handled 353 mental‑health calls in the first six months of this year, a 41% increase from the prior year, and responded in person to over 70% of those incidents.

The department told council it is taking a multipronged approach to the community’s concerns about street racing and large car meetups. Hempelman said officers are working extra duty on weekend nights, coordinating with courts and prosecutors, and asking private properties not to host large groups. “That’s definitely the hot topic now, and we don't take this lightly,” she said. She shared regional enforcement statistics gathered in 2025: in coordinated operations the region made about 205 traffic stops and issued 179 tickets focused on speeding and modified exhausts.

Operational details and other program updates provided to the council included: - K‑9 and enforcement: three department K‑9s were deployed over 250 times in the first half of the year, contributing to narcotics and firearm recoveries and suspect apprehensions; grant funding purchased protective vests for those dogs. (Deputy Chief Cadell) - Patrol and staffing: the department reported 18 new trainees in its field‑training program and 23 field training officers in place; managers said the department is fully staffed as of mid‑October pending no retirements. (Deputy Chief Cadell; Chief Hempelman) - Traffic and enforcement: the traffic unit issued 790 citations from January through June 2025, including registration and speeding violations; the unit investigated three fatal crashes and 15 serious‑injury crashes in the same period, a decline from 2024. (Division Chief Roger Plunkett) - Co‑responder and behavioral health: the in‑house co‑responder team increased in‑person responses by 70% for behavioral‑health calls and the department reported expanding peer support and diversion programs for inmates in partnership with county court programs. (Division Chief Plunkett)

Council members asked how the city uses extreme‑risk protection orders (ERPOs, sometimes called “red‑flag” laws). The city attorney’s office and police described a process in which the city attorney’s office assists officers and families with ERPO filings; the speakers said Broomfield has used the tool several times in recent years and described successful confiscations under the law.

Chief Hempelman also described two community‑facing programs: a public “blue envelope” accommodation card for residents with communication or accessibility needs, which officers will be trained on in the next two weeks, and a third annual “chief senior walk” scheduled for 10 a.m. the next day at the Broomfield Community Center (registration 9:30 a.m.).

Council members praised the department’s staffing and community work and asked for continued updates on street‑racing enforcement, mall and retail theft trends, and mental‑health response capacity. The department said it will continue regional collaboration, targeted enforcement, and community outreach and will report back to council with program metrics and enforcement outcomes.

Sources: presentation and Q&A at the City and County of Broomfield study session. Direct quotes and numerical figures are taken from remarks by Chief Anaya Hempelman, Deputy Chief Mark Cadell, and Division Chief Roger Plunkett, as recorded in the meeting transcript.