European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 1, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Only Johnw at20 sheriffs along the Western slope of Trio Flaky mount ant in Colorado Teel they con adequately cover their on tire county. Enforcing the Law in Rural Colorado budgets squeezed As crime increases by Nancy la Holm Cox news services rime is up. The Economy is Down. And Rural Law enforcement on the Western slope of the Rocky mountains in Colorado is being squeezed by this Calch-22 Vise. While budget cuts were Elim Naling some officers training and equipment and in some smaller towns entire police departments crime increased As much As 50 percent in some Western slope counties last year. There were More than 16,000 serious crimes rape robbery murder assault and burglary reported in the area in 1986. Estimates show about 10 percent of Western slope residents Are victims of crime. There is an average of Only one officer per 75 Square Miles for the area and these wide open spaces create unique problems. Dozens of the 550 officers there Quality Lor welfare because of to Weir Low salaries and a Large number Are not certified far every nine crimes committed there Are about to arrests and the clearance rate has dropped ram 32 percent to 19 percent Over the past 35 years says Neil Moloney director of the Colorado Bureau of investigation. But the nitty Grilly complaints irom some of the officers covering the 54,000 Square Miles of the Western slope an area the size of the state of Wisconsin Tell More then the statistics. In la Plata county the newest patrol vehicle has 112,000 Miles on the speedometer. Beginning officers in Archuleta county Are paid s725 a month. The town of Nucla has had six marshals quit in three years. Hinsdale county deputies must drive 3vj hours in Good weather to reach outlying areas of the county. Two to six pairs of skis a Day Are stolen irom the Purgatory Shi area near Durango because there is not enough manpower to patrol there regularly. Dolores county deputies use cheap instant cameras to photograph evidence because the Page 16 the stars and stripes department cannot afford 35-mm cameras. The last police chief in Hotchkiss never went through Basic police certification raining. Law enforcement authorities Are calling the situation everything from a disaster to a disgrace. Every one of us is taking a she lacking this year said Delta county sheriff Dick Miklich who watches Over a county Wilh one of the highest crime increases in the state. Miklich had three suspected murders and one Alle pled murder in his 1.15d-Square-mile Rural county last year. And he has been asked to Lake a to percent budget out for 1987, he said he will have to begin instituting some selective Law enforcement. We will have to Lay out some priorities in the dispatch office and address the More serious Calls first and Lake the others As we can gel to them he said. Miklich s financial problems May be More severe than the other counties but the complaints Are the same. Only three of 20 Western slope sheriffs said they Felt they could adequately cover their entire county. The same number said they fell their budgets were not adequate to cover training and equipment. Most cited burglaries end melts As their most serious crime problems with Over $11 million Worth of goods being stolen on the Western slope in 1985. In the Rural areas where the poor Economy is a major Factor authorities say child abuse and Domestic violence is on the increase and in he ski areas they cite a problem with a transient population that is More prone to commit crimes. The criminals Are More Mobile. They re in and out. In and out and it makes it a lot tougher to catch them Miklic said. Drug enforcement administration special agent John o Neill agreed with Many Western slope authorities hat drugs Are behind a lot of the crimes and Are a big Factor in the increasing crime rate. There Are no hard statistics or drug offences in this area but Moloney said estimates show 50 percent of All Street crimes Are drug related. A High percentage of burglaries and shells of at kinds Are drug related. These parasitic crimes go along writ drugs. So do bad checks and Larcenie anything to get  said Voloney. Sunday March 1,1987 Moloney has Only three agents stationed on the Western slope and has complained Billery about his Low budget and inability to Light crime properly since he took Over a year ago the same budget restraints thai plague the lop level Are Felt even More keenly at the Bottom of the jaw enforce men Chain in the Small towns Wilh one or two Man departments. At least 15 Small towns have dropped or Are considering dropping their own police departments. With salary insurance vehicle maintenance and office space the Cost of a one Man department can be As much As $60,000 a year a major portion of a Small town s entire budget often the towns can t foot the Bill for Basic training and in they do train officers they usually lose them to a larger deportment with belter pay. Chi Western slope senior agent Leo Konkel said the Quality of officers in Rural Western Colorado generally does t measure up to that in metro areas. Comparatively on the Western slope they re underpaid under trained and sometimes because Fiey Are underpaid they Ere  Konkel said. Konkel said he knows of a number of bases on the Western slope that have gone a prosecuted because he officer just Plain did t know what to  towns that Are incorporated must provide some sort of Law enforcement to in most cases they pay the county sheriff to provide that service. Many sheriffs see this consolidation of service As a wave of the future. It will be increasingly difficult for Small lawns to have their own departments. Regionalism will increase said san Miguel county sheriff Bill masters who has been contracting Wilh the southwestern Colorado town of Norwood Lor the past four years. Eagle county sheriff a. J. Johnson said everything dictates that we became More efficient. That s what it All comes Down  even though Small town citizens have been expressing a dislike for that idea Many authorities believe it will be Lor the better. Moloney said the consolidation of department would help solve some budget problems and some problems Wilh one Agency not knowing what other agencies arc doing. He said there is Active support for the concept Al High Levels Colorado gov. Roy Romer has recommended consolidating some of the smaller counties