The city of Boulder and Boulder police are considering establishing an annex in the northern part of town, which would increase law enforcement presence in the area. At a Nov. 7 City Council meeting, city leaders acknowledged the urgency of controlling the crime in north Boulder.

The effort for increased police presence is being made in response to an outcry from residents who say they are tired of being victimized. Maryanne Gatten, with the North Boulder Alliance, blamed the June opening of Boulder’s All Roads Shelter’s day center for North Boulder’s crime explosion. “Since the opening of the day center, neighbors have witnessed fires being set, public urination, defecation, public intoxication, and open drug use,” Gatten said. The group’s analysis showed a 90% increase in major crimes from 2022-2024. She said that when the center is closed, people lie asleep on sidewalks.

All Roads is located at 4869 Broadway. 

North Boulder is one of two hot spots for crime along with Central Park, at Canyon and Broadway. Both locations are hangouts for Boulder’s homeless community. 

Residents in North Boulder have been asking for an increased police presence in their neighborhoods. Boulder City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde acknowledged what she referred to as “a sense of urgency” at the November meeting. However, she said that though a police substation is “on our radar,” it won’t happen overnight because it would require money and additional conversation.

“We need to address these escalating crimes which are not going away but seem to be getting worse,” said Boulder City Council member Taishya Adams, in the final minutes of that night’s meeting, Adams acknowledged that short-term solutions, such as lights installed in areas of high criminal activity, but expressed concern that this doesn’t solve the long-term issue.

Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn acknowledged that crime has increased in the area since early last year. “Certain types of incidents are up. We have an uptick in assaults. There are victim-offender crimes that overlap with unhoused people. There are also drinking and disorder issues,” he said. 

Those kinds of crimes keep police from working on more serious issues, which is also a concern. 

This summer, crime went down by nearly a third on Boulder’s University Hill area after the police focused attention there. On the heels of that success, Redfearn is now adding resources to North Boulder “hoping to have the same outcome.” 

A Denver Gazette analysis of police calls for service in Boulder at All Roads Shelter and the underpass shows significantly higher rates of police activity compared to other parts of the city.

Even accounting for population density and household income, the concentration of certain calls in these zones far exceeds what demographics alone would predict.

The data shows a dramatic over-representation of calls for medical emergencies, public disturbances, and incidents involving intoxicated individuals.

For example, calls classified as “drunk person” and “CARE,” which stands for community assistance and response events, occur multiple times at the rate expected based on demographics.

The areas along north Broadway near the shelter and underpass have significantly more calls for medical assistance, trespassing, harassment, and public drunkenness as a portion of all calls.

When compared to another hotspot for homeless-related incidents — the Central Park area in downtown Boulder — the disparity remains evident.

The Denver Gazette investigation also found that the city saw 102 unprovoked attacks by homeless people from May to September this year, according to data provided to The Denver Gazette by the Boulder Police Department.

Before police were required to specify homelessness on their reports, that number was much lower — just eight in the summer of 2021.

Redfearn said that a substation would not be a 24/7 operation, but instead provide a place for officers to take a break while on patrol. The added police presence could deter crime and being closer to the hot spot would reduce response times. 

The Boulder force is fully staffed for the first time since 2016.

This story was written with the help of Gazette Data Analyst Evan Wyloge.