SMART Jeffco

The Sheriff's Office implemented the SMART Jeffco process for the first time in the first quarter of 2004.  SMART Jeffco is a problem-solving model that places responsibility to identify problems and solutions at the deputy level.  Law enforcement commanders are accountable for their geographic areas of responsibility.  The aim of SMART Jeffco (Strategic Management and Accurate Response Tactics) is to use available resources from within the Sheriff's Office and other county departments to solve crime and quality-of-life problems in the community. 

The SMART Jeffco process is modeled after the Compstat model developed by the New York Police Department.  Compstat is based on the "broken windows" theory of policing, which holds that dealing with smaller crime and quality-of-life issues can have an impact in reducing bigger crime problems.  On the flip side, failure to control minor offenses can create a sense of public disorder.

The SMART Jeffco process employs real-time crime analysis combined with proven and innovative crime-reduction techniques.  This allows area commanders to immediately identify and address current crime conditions and prevent future ones from arising.  Staff members from all three precincts meet monthly to discuss crime trends, quality-of-life problems, crime prevention techniques and solutions. 

SMART Jeffco examples

• "Broken windows" at Dinosaur lots.  Patrol enlisted the help of the jail's inmate worker crew to clean up the parking lots at I-70 and Highway 26.  The "broken windows" theory of policing holds that broken windows and other minor crime issues can create a sense of disorder, ultimately encouraging bigger criminal events.  With this in mind, staff supervised the inmates' cleanup of the park & ride lots, locations with a history of car break-ins.  Initial statistics showed a significant decrease in break-ins in the parking lot(s) after the cleanup.
• Open garage doors problematic.  Analysts determined that 20 percent of south Jeffco residential burglaries in the first quarter of 2006 resulted from open garage doors.  The Sheriff's Office sent an e-mail alert to residents in May to remind them to keep garage doors shut, even when they are at home.  Deputies on routine patrol regularly contact residents to urge them to close their garage doors; if deputies can't locate the residents, they often leave a pink paper tag as notification. 
• Auto theft pattern.  Investigators reported that the spike in auto thefts at the end of 2005 showed a pattern: most cars were being stolen from shopping centers and apartment complexes.  Further, Hondas and Acuras were the makes most frequently stolen.  It appears that suspects' use of  "jiggle keys" may have facilitated some of these thefts. Hondas and Acuras made before 1996 are particularly susceptible to jiggle keys.  Investigators arrested one suspect on an auto theft whom they also believe to be responsible for multiple thefts of this type.  After his arrest, the Bowles corridor showed a drop in auto thefts at area shopping centers.
• DriveSmart seatbelt campaign.  In April 2006, deputies contacted students leaving school parking lots as part of the seatbelt campaign with DriveSmart Evergreen.  Deputies distributed giveaways to students wearing seat belts. The event was the first of six similar safety checks in the mountain area.
• Graffiti help. The south area Crime Prevention deputy approached Target and received a grant for graffiti clean-up supplies that would be distributed from the Sheriff's Office to local property owners to aid them in their cleanup efforts. 
• Wildfire preparation.  The sheriff put fire restrictions in place on May 1, followed by a fire ban several weeks later.  PIOs' proactive media relations work resulted in substantial media coverage of the fire restrictions.  Deputy liaisons mailed information on defensible space and wildfire mitigation to HOA presidents in the mountain areas.  An e-mail alert went out to mountain residents encouraging them to know more than one evacuation route out of their neighborhood in case of fire.  Resident deputies are proactively seeking fire ban violators and issuing the appropriate tickets.  Sheriff's Office staff has undergone relevant training exercises, with more training scheduled.
• Educational envelopes.  As part of the Patrol Division's efforts to educate drivers, the Traffic Unit created a small envelope featuring traffic safety information. Deputies are now using the envelope during traffic stops to return citizens' drivers licenses, along with their own business cards.  The envelopes inform drivers that the Sheriff's Office is working to curb unsafe driving through enforcement, education and community partnerships.  Envelopes are used when a ticket is not written.
• Lock It or Lose It campaign.  The Investigations Division, after learning of a rash of crimes-of-opportunity burglaries in south Jeffco, created a "Lock It or Lose It" flyer for distribution to south area residents and businesses.  The flyer encourages residents to secure their homes, garages and cars, and educates them about crimes of opportunity.
• Project Lifesaver up and running.  In the second quarter of 2005, the Sheriff's Office launched Project Lifesaver.  This tracking system enables deputies to locate patients who may wander off due to medical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or autism.  Patients wear a transmitter bracelet.  The JCSO enrolled its first participant in the program in April, a woman with Alzheimer's.  Since then, five more have been enrolled, including a 5-year-old autistic child in Evergreen who had wandered off twelve times in one month.  The tracking system has a 100 percent success rate nationwide and the costs of the program are minimal when compared to costs associated with search and rescue operations.
  
• Click here to read about some SMART Jeffco successes from previous years.

SHARP Jeffco
The Sheriff's Office Patrol and Investigations functions aren't the only groups employing the Compstat philosophy.  In 2006, the Detention Services Division began its own version, called SHARP Jeffco (Strategic Highly Accountable Relentless Performance), to identify problems and solutions to jail-related issues. 

PPAAAR
In 2006 the Patrol Division embarked on a new system for analyzing its activities and resources, called PPAAAR (Patrol Precinct Activity and Asset Accountability Review).  PPAAAR is a monthly review of fiscal, physical and human resource use and allocation within the Patrol Division.  This monthly review allows command staff to closely analyze deputy allocation, call load volume, overall workload, benefit time use and other issues to ensure the best possible law enforcement services for the citizens. 

 

Last Modified: Mar 28, 2009 10:17 PM