Mission impossible: a police report

By Jesse Stephenson
The Metropolitan

Ever witnessed an armed robbery?

I havenāt, but I have seen the aftermath: a police report.

One summer morning in 1993, I asked to see the arrest record for the man convicted of holding up my boss who worked at a downtown Denver grocery store.

It took less than a minute for the clerk at the Denver City and County Building to retrieve the robberās file.
A year later, I requested to see the criminal history of a former electrical engineering professor at Metro. No problem.

I even got the chance to purchase the professorās police mug for under $5.

The ease of getting these records gave me the idea that I could pop into the Denver City and County Building and emerge within minutes, documents in hand.

How wrong I was.

Twice I have tried to get police reports in the past three months and twice I have failed.

Not because Denver police or county courthouse clerks are unwilling to let me see them, itās just that they refuse to search for the reports if it means doing more than glancing at their computer screens.

According to Denver Police Officer Virginia Lopez, the department doesnāt keep records of arrests made the previous day on their computer files. Or the day before that.

In fact, Lopez informed me that anyone wanting to find out about an arrest made by a Denver officer has to wait 10 days before the information is entered into the county court and the police computer network. Ten days is the maximum time any government department or agency can withhold public information under the Colorado Open Records Act.

But while Denver police might be in compliance with the law, making people wait over a week to get evidence of an arrest is unreasonable from a reporterās perspective and possibly dangerous from anyone elseās.

What about the homeowner who wants to find out if the intruder that police caught mid-burglary has been charged?

What about the reporter who wants to confirm reports that a senator got arrested that day on suspicion of shoplifting?

What about the woman who wants to see whether the ex-boyfriend who is stalking her was jailed after his arrest?
The police forceās aim is to serve and protect.

But until the Denver department rids itself of this irresponsible record-keeping system that mission will be impossible to fulfill.