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Council presses police on funding, cameras and vacant buildings tied to PNI work
Summary
Council members asked city police and staff detailed questions about sustaining PNI funding, whether Axon ALPR camera deployments are appropriate for each site, the city's role in activating vacant properties, and legislative tools such as the vacant and derelict properties ordinance.
Council members used the question period following the PNI briefing to press officials on funding sustainability, camera deployments and the role of vacant or derelict properties in neighborhood safety.
Councilmember Torres (speaker 12) praised visible activation work at Paco Sanchez—new lighting and community events—and stressed the need for modest ongoing supports so nonprofits can sustain programs. “We need a little support just to get that started,” she said, urging that community events be resourced as part of maintenance.
Councilmember Watson Fine (speaker 6) and others asked how the program will cope without specific prior funding streams. Chief Vaughn Thomas said prioritization within agency budgets and strategic staffing adjustments are used to sustain PNI sites but that ongoing funding is a challenge.
Councilwoman Ovidrez (speaker 5) requested site‑specific days‑since‑last‑shooting metrics for Mississippi & Raritan and other locations and asked how camera systems tied to an Axon contract would integrate with PNI work. The commander said not every PNI location is an ALPR candidate and that technical feasibility and site‑specific needs determine deployments. “Choice in using ALPR PNI sites that are still having incidents of gun violence,” the commander said, noting ALPRs are most useful where vehicle patterns are relevant to investigations.
Another council member (speaker 4) urged legislative remedies for persistent problem properties, saying the city’s vacant and derelict properties ordinance and the Denver Revised Municipal Code provide tools but that gaps remain. He encouraged colleagues to identify how the council can fill code gaps to help convert problem properties into activated community uses.
Councilmember Manu Sanwal (speaker 7), who said he serves on the Downtown Development Authority board, described a DDA proposal to fund extra downtown patrols and asked colleagues to consider how similar private‑public support can be used to activate sites. Officials said the DDA patrol funding decision is a local funding matter and noted coordination between the DDA, DPD and other agencies.
There were no votes or formal actions recorded on cameras, contracts or ordinance changes during the meeting; council members asked staff to provide further metrics and details.
