By Ashley Silver
Police1
DENVER — The Denver Police Department will soon be led by a 33-year veteran of the department, as Ron Thomas steps into his new role as chief of police.
According to 9 News, 56-year-old Ron Thomas will transition from his position as head of the DPD’s patrol division to the agency’s highest office. Thomas was previously a district commander and led the department’s internal affairs bureau.
The new chief has already begun outlining priorities and analyzing current policies to tackle policing challenges head on, specifically the city’s high violent crime rate and lengthy response times to 911 calls with the department being down nearly 200 officers.
“I’m particularly concerned about homicides and non-fatal shootings, because those have the greatest impact on people,” Thomas told 9 News. “I’ve thought of some innovative ways to repurpose officers so there are more officers able to respond to police calls. Identifying those calls that don’t need a police response, whether reports can be taken online or over the phone, and really just reserve those urgent calls that officers need to respond to.”
Thomas also wants to bridge communication gaps between the community and law enforcement during his tenure.
“I personally want to have every individual who lives in the city understand that the Denver police department works for them,” Thomas told the media platform.
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