To the fringe lawmakers peddling the reckless “justice reform” agenda at the Capitol, police are a lot like room service. They are to be called if the pols’ own homes have been burglarized or their cars stolen – but otherwise should stop bothering the bad guys.

So, it’s only fitting some of those lawmakers now want to hang a “Do not disturb” sign on the doors of dangerous criminal suspects. Sure, they might be wanted for serious crimes and have lengthy, even violent records. They might be longtime fugitives from justice.

But, hey, sometimes it just isn’t convenient for them to answer the door when the cops come calling.

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Senate Bill 23-254, now pending in Colorado’s legislature, would limit the use of knock-and-announce as well as no-knock warrants – to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. That’s right; no after-hours raids on the hideout of, say, a meth peddler suspected of robbing and shooting a convenience store clerk. Too bad if authorities got a tip on the suspect’s whereabouts, and this might be the only chance to arrest him. It’s after 7, and he is binge-streaming Netflix right now, OK? Maybe tomorrow.

Make no mistake, the warrants are essential tools of law enforcement. They enable authorities to use the element of surprise to close in on a high-risk suspect. A team of top cops who are well armed and well trained either surrounds the location and announces its presence or, when necessary, is authorized by a no-knock warrant to break in. The no-knock team often enough is able to take the suspect into custody swiftly and without firing a shot.

The raids, which are rare, don’t always go as planned. But even when things go wrong, it’s worth noting that – as in other law-enforcement encounters with suspects – it is usually the police themselves who are most in harm’s way. Which makes the case for continuous training and improvement – not curbing the warrants’ use.

Restricting the time of day when such warrants can be carried out is of course absurd. Under the bill, only a judge could give police permission to pay a visit after hours. It amounts to yet another get-out-of-jail card issued to the criminal element by the justice-reform crowd.

The Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police and County Sheriffs of Colorado announced this week they are working to amend the bill in a few ways. (The proposal makes other changes, as well, to the use of the warrants.) One of the groups’ proposed amendments involves “extending the hours” a no-knock warrant could be carried out.

Law enforcement shouldn’t be put in the position of having to beg for more time. It’s ridiculous to place any time limits on the warrants. Law officers need to be able to carry out a no-knock arrest at whatever time is most effective for catching a suspect off guard. The legislature has no business micromanaging the policy.

Dangerous criminal suspects – who have lived lives of crime and victimized the public repeatedly – don’t need a safe space where they can collect their thoughts and catch their breath. They need to feel they have nowhere to hide.

Legislation passed in 2021 called for a review of no-knock and forced-entry procedures. That review is complete, and some of its recommendations may have merit. But lawmakers can take them up separately.

SB 254 goes well beyond the scope of the recommendations. Its attempt to grant, essentially, office hours to criminal suspects is insulting. Rather than amending the bill, just kill it outright.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board