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<v Speaker 1>Joining me. I'm thrilled to have with us.

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<v Speaker 3>Now.

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<v Speaker 2>He's been at the Aurora Police Department as chief for

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<v Speaker 2>about a year ish, now coming from the Los Angeles

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<v Speaker 2>Police Department after decades there, Police Chief Todd Chamberlain, Welcome

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<v Speaker 2>to the Mandy Connell Show.

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<v Speaker 4>Hey, thank you, Mandy very much. Glad to be here.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, let me ask you a little bit.

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<v Speaker 2>You came from Los Angeles, which seems like that's kind

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<v Speaker 2>of a I mean, we've all watched the cop shows, right,

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<v Speaker 2>I feel like I'm practically a member of the LAPD

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<v Speaker 2>after all the cop shows that I've watched. How does

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<v Speaker 2>that department and coming to Aurora, how are they different?

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<v Speaker 3>You know what may be inside a little bit, but

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<v Speaker 3>I think the passion for the profession is very consistent

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<v Speaker 3>in both organizations. You have individuals that are really committed

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<v Speaker 3>to unity service and again, I think you have a

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<v Speaker 3>community that really appreciates the needs law enforcement and trying

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<v Speaker 3>to have that collaboration and that input.

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<v Speaker 4>I think that is without question, one of the similar.

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<v Speaker 2>So you walked into a situation and I'm sure you

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<v Speaker 2>looked into Aurora's Police department before you even put in

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<v Speaker 2>the application. Aurora PD has had a bumpy few years,

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<v Speaker 2>and outsider looking in, I would say there has been

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<v Speaker 2>a there was for some time a critical failure of

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<v Speaker 2>leadership in that department. And I have several Aurora Police

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<v Speaker 2>Department officers who communicate with me on a regular basis,

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<v Speaker 2>some now former Aurora.

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<v Speaker 1>PD people who left before you got there.

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<v Speaker 2>When you came in, what did you do to establish

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<v Speaker 2>with the ranks that you were going to lead them

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<v Speaker 2>out of that to a better position both in the

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<v Speaker 2>community within the department, sort of work on those whole

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<v Speaker 2>relations while working on the relations within the building.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and that was something I'm very happy because I've

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<v Speaker 3>actually had experiences going through organizations where they did have

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<v Speaker 3>troubling times where there was a rough path, where everything

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<v Speaker 3>wasn't perfect.

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<v Speaker 4>And so again that skill set and that.

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<v Speaker 3>Knowledge really helped me here be able to step into

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<v Speaker 3>this organization.

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<v Speaker 4>And I think something else to remember too.

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<v Speaker 3>It wasn't just specifically maybe the City of Aurora, but

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<v Speaker 3>law enforcement in general.

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<v Speaker 4>I think over the past five years has had.

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<v Speaker 3>A really hard time. I think it's been unnecessarily villainized.

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<v Speaker 3>I think that it really impacted how law enforcement practitioners

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<v Speaker 3>perform their function and their duty and so for me,

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<v Speaker 3>it was an opportunity to step into an environment that

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<v Speaker 3>I was aware of, an environment that I've experienced in

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<v Speaker 3>the path, and let them know that I'm here to

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<v Speaker 3>support them as well as support the community. And so

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<v Speaker 3>that first thing was letting them know again that they

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<v Speaker 3>do have that support. If what they do is proper,

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<v Speaker 3>if it's women polity and procedure, and if it's epical,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm going to be there to support them and make

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<v Speaker 3>sure that we're going in the right direction and we're

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<v Speaker 3>giving the service to the community of Aurora that it deserves.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you feel like morale in the building has improved,

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<v Speaker 2>because I'll tell you, you know, comments that I get a

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<v Speaker 2>few years ago were not good and a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>the officers there were like, I'm just looking to do

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<v Speaker 2>something different. Do you feel like morale has improved? And

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<v Speaker 2>are you seeing better retention in that respect?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, Actually, we keep track of all that, and so

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<v Speaker 3>without question, morale has definitely seemed to be going.

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<v Speaker 4>In the right directory. We're going in the right way.

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<v Speaker 3>Get a lot of positive feedback, and it's not just

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<v Speaker 3>what I hear just there's a lot of people that

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<v Speaker 3>can just take a your ear, but it's what I

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<v Speaker 3>hear from the community. It's what I hear other people

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<v Speaker 3>saying that officers are telling them and how they're how

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<v Speaker 3>they're being served, and how they feel confident in performing

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<v Speaker 3>their job and their task.

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<v Speaker 4>Because it's a really challenging job. This is not a

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<v Speaker 4>job for the week.

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<v Speaker 3>And I don't mean week physically, I mean just just

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<v Speaker 3>the week in heart, because it's really complex.

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<v Speaker 4>It takes a lot out of you.

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<v Speaker 3>It's a huge commitment, but the payoff is immeasurable if

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<v Speaker 3>it's done correctly and done properly. And so when you

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<v Speaker 3>talk about attrition again, we are really in a good place.

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<v Speaker 3>We are actually approaching for the time in a very

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<v Speaker 3>long time. As of January, the department should be at

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<v Speaker 3>full staffing levels of what we are authorized. So that's

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<v Speaker 3>a huge win, not only for the City of Aurora.

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<v Speaker 3>That's unique in law enforcement across the nation to have

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<v Speaker 3>actually full staffing.

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<v Speaker 4>So I know that what our men and women are doing.

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<v Speaker 3>Is resonating with them. And then also our attrition ring

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<v Speaker 3>has really dropped off from where we were losing a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of people in the organization. And three we had

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<v Speaker 3>a twelve percent attrition rate where a lot of people

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<v Speaker 3>were leaving. Twenty four we had a nine percent and

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<v Speaker 3>right now here to date we're at about a.

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<v Speaker 4>Five percent attrition rate. So people are coming into the

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<v Speaker 4>organization and the people that are here are staying. So

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<v Speaker 4>those two things are incredibly positive.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh.

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<v Speaker 2>Is that part of the reason that Aurora has seen

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<v Speaker 2>a pretty good drop in violent crime? A few years

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<v Speaker 2>ago they were the number one city in the state

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<v Speaker 2>and violent crime rates and now they have dropped below Denver.

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<v Speaker 2>Is it because of that continuity of officer?

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<v Speaker 1>Is it because you're at full staff.

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<v Speaker 3>I think it's more than just the staffing, and I

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<v Speaker 3>think it's a myriad of different things. And those things

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<v Speaker 3>one involved the technology that we have introduced, which have

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<v Speaker 3>been incredibly helpful to allow the officers to.

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<v Speaker 4>Perform their task more efficiently and effectively.

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<v Speaker 3>I think also if you look at some of the

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<v Speaker 3>policy modifications that we have done in regards to both

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<v Speaker 3>internal and external things, and what I mean by that

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<v Speaker 3>is administrative issues or how personal complaints are handled, how

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<v Speaker 3>force reviews they're done, giving ownership back to our leadership,

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<v Speaker 3>letting them know that they are leaders within the organizations,

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<v Speaker 3>which was.

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<v Speaker 4>Not part of the equation before.

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<v Speaker 3>And then it's also been modifications to how we fight crime,

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<v Speaker 3>and that's been a big part of it. One of

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<v Speaker 3>those aspects again involved the pursuit policy. So when I

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<v Speaker 3>first got here, if an officer dout behind the stolen

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<v Speaker 3>car activated their emergency lights because they've verified, hey, this

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<v Speaker 3>car was stolen, only thing a person had to do

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<v Speaker 3>accelerate away and our officers would turn off the lights,

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<v Speaker 3>make a left turn and go away.

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<v Speaker 4>I couldn't abide by that.

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<v Speaker 3>You're talking to fellon the offense committed by somebody, and

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<v Speaker 3>when you think of the loss of the car, that

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<v Speaker 3>can be incredibly detrimental to someone and change their whole life.

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<v Speaker 3>And so we modified our pursuit policy which allowed our

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<v Speaker 3>officers to go into pursuit of those vehicles effectively do it,

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<v Speaker 3>making sure we're doing it properly and ethically.

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<v Speaker 4>And with that we have seen again we're I think

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<v Speaker 4>we went from.

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<v Speaker 3>Five pursuits last year to right now as far as

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<v Speaker 3>pursuits were, stolen vehicles were somewhere in the area of

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<v Speaker 3>about one and eighty eight, So that has drastically changed.

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<v Speaker 3>But what's more important than just to pursue or the

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<v Speaker 3>stopping of that stolen vehicle is what we are finding

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<v Speaker 3>of stealing vehicles. We're having people that are on parole,

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<v Speaker 3>people that are on probation. We're getting a lot of

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<v Speaker 3>hand guns out of these vehicles. We're getting a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of repeat offenders. And so again, people weren't selling cars

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<v Speaker 3>is to drive them back and forth to work or

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<v Speaker 3>something like that. They were stealing cars to go out

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<v Speaker 3>and victimize other people, right, And so you have really

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<v Speaker 3>changed that dynamic. And again I think that's something that

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<v Speaker 3>has really improved or what we've been able to do.

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<v Speaker 3>But as far as the overall crime fighting and where

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<v Speaker 3>those reductions and numbers come, it's one hour in community engagement,

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<v Speaker 3>with partnership with community finding out we're going in to

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<v Speaker 3>the right place, doing the right thing at the right time.

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<v Speaker 4>But I think a big.

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<v Speaker 3>Part of that is allowing police officers to get police

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<v Speaker 3>officers to get letting them know.

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<v Speaker 4>That I want to see proactive policing.

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<v Speaker 3>I want to see individuals that are victimizing other people

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<v Speaker 3>taken off the street, not just with radio calls, but

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<v Speaker 3>with just foundationally solid proactive policing. So that has really

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<v Speaker 3>been the term. It's not one thing, it's just it's

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<v Speaker 3>a miriad of different loans.

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<v Speaker 1>How is the.

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<v Speaker 2>Relationship between activist organizations and Aurora who have had and

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<v Speaker 2>I would say in pass rightfully so, they've had concerns

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<v Speaker 2>about policing and police leadership. How is your relationship with

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<v Speaker 2>some of those organizations, you know, I.

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<v Speaker 3>Hope it's solid. I hope it's a good relationship. But

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<v Speaker 3>I also I'm very open about this. I'm not going

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<v Speaker 3>to have an entire city be evaluated by small particular groups.

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<v Speaker 3>And what I mean by that is sometimes you can

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<v Speaker 3>get what I always call the loudest duck in the room,

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<v Speaker 3>whereas the people that screen, that that protest, that yell,

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<v Speaker 3>that say everything is wrong, and organizations and maybe even

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<v Speaker 3>the City of Aurora, the or police department basically.

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<v Speaker 4>Capgual ages for those small groups.

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<v Speaker 3>And what really is kind of frustrating is that the

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<v Speaker 3>larger silent group that really doesn't say anything, that doesn't

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<v Speaker 3>you know, have that that that vocal nature, they get forgotten.

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<v Speaker 3>And within that forgotten group is a lot of victimization.

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<v Speaker 3>And so again I I without question here I understand

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<v Speaker 3>the voices of the activist groups.

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<v Speaker 4>I am here to support them in every way I

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<v Speaker 4>possibly can.

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<v Speaker 3>This department is here to support them, but I also

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<v Speaker 3>know that there's a much larger population that we have

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<v Speaker 3>to focus on as well, and so that balance, to me,

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<v Speaker 3>is really important making sure that one we listen to

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<v Speaker 3>those individuals that have problems, concerns and issues, but also

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<v Speaker 3>they don't set the narrative for the entire population of

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<v Speaker 3>the entire community, and unfortunately, I think in a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of ways, especially over the past five years, that unfortunately

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<v Speaker 3>has been normalized.

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<v Speaker 2>Aimen to that, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain. I really

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<v Speaker 2>appreciate you stop and buy for a visit. I'd love

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<v Speaker 2>to have you for a longer visit next time. Keep

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<v Speaker 2>up the good work.

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<v Speaker 4>Thank you so much. I have a great day, all right.

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<v Speaker 2>That is Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain,