![]() ![]() Of the 932 arrests tallied between January and the end of April in the neighborhood, 696 occurred within a half-block of Union Station. To get to the more than 700 arrests Hancock boasted between January 1 and the end of March, Denver Police Department tallied every arrest in the Union Station neighborhood - not just at the Great Hall or the bus concourse. They address unhoused people’s needs and attempt to get drug-dependent people into treatment.ĭenverite dove into the available data on arrests and social services offered at Union Station to better understand the administration’s approach to solving the area’s issues. Hancock assured the public that his administration is sending not just cops to Union Station, but also social service and outreach workers. They say housing and social services are needed instead. Heading into an election season, in an era when tough-on-crime politics are en vogue and Democrats are rolling back criminal justice reforms related to substance use and resuscitating War on Drugs rhetoric, Hancock - who is term limited - pointed to the arrest numbers to show that his administration isn’t coddling people who are breaking the law.īut arrests, argue addiction specialists, are not effective in addressing a drug crisis and make matters worse. This is about the sale and use of deadly illegal drugs.” ![]() “What we are seeing here is not homelessness. “This is not about housing or homelessness,” Hancock said in late March, when asked about the many people carrying their possessions with them and shrouded in blankets to stay warm. By the end of April, the number had ballooned to 932 in the neighborhood, and the city was on track to arrest 1,000 by the end of May. In late March, Mayor Michael Hancock and city brass stood above the Union Station bus concourse and boasted about police making more than 700 arrests in the area - a response to public complaints about crime. The Lower Downtown Neighborhood Association’s Safe, Clean and Compassionate committee spent the winter trying to rally Mayor Michael Hancock, the Regional Transportation District and the Denver Police Department to beef up social services, security and law enforcement patrols, asking police to make more arrests. Travelers and transit-users also shared the space - some having the time of their lives. ![]() In December, at the height of public outcry over the issues, Denverite spent 18 hours at Union Station and saw a different story: Unhoused people sleeping, security trying to keep them awake, some doing drugs, many trying to stay warm, and plenty in a state of mental duress. At least one business has shut down over crime. Neighbors and bus drivers have said they feel unsafe. In recent months, Union Station has been depicted as a hotbed of violence and drug-dealing. ![]()
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