Littleton ‘proactive’ police team will patrol using e-bikes, thanks to donation
by Nina Joss, Littleton Independent March 7, 2024
Photo: Littleton Business Chamber board members and Executive Director Korri Lundock award a $13,600 check to Chief Doug Stephens and the Special Enforcement Team at a city council meeting on March 5. / Photo by Nina Joss.
Littleton CO: Several members of the Littleton Police Department will soon receive e-bikes to help them as they patrol the city’s downtown area as well as parks, open spaces and trails.
Chief Doug Stephens said the police department’s Special Enforcement Team, or SET, provides “proactive safety services to the community,” meaning they aim to prevent crime and emergencies before they happen. The team often patrols on bicycles to access the city’s parks and trails.
E-bikes are generally faster than bicycles and require much less energy when pedaling and, in some cases, no pedaling at all. The chief hopes the new e-bikes will make it easier for the officers to cover more ground in the community and respond to emergencies more quickly.
“We have all these wonderful parks and trails and stuff, but getting from one place to another and getting there quickly or more frequently, I think will be supplemented by e-bikes,” he said.
The effort is made possible by the Littleton Business Chamber, which recently presented a $13,600 check to the chief to support the effort.
The chamber raised the money a few months ago at their holiday gala and auction, exceeding their fundraising goal of $5,000.
“It was a fun night and (we’re) just really grateful for how present everybody was and how supportive of not only the chamber, but the police department,” Executive Director Korri Lundock said.
Stephens said the department is putting the money towards the SET program because the Littleton community values “interacting with the officers in a positive way,” and the SET officers focus on proactive public safety efforts that offer those opportunities.
“That can be anything from helping coordinate community events, presenting crime prevention tips, working in partnership with private partners like AllHealth Network on mental health and homelessness issues, to focusing police resources on pattern crimes that may be occurring in our city,” Stephens said.
Lundock said Stephens was an early partner with the Littleton Business Chamber. In June 2023, he was the first community leader to attend the chamber’s “C-Level Luncheon” event where the chamber invites city leaders to hold an open dialogue with businesses.
“We truly appreciated his honesty, his compassion and his integrity,” Lundock said of the event. “We were able to bring up issues that he was unaware of. He listened and we were able to create a channel for open dialogue and communication for local businesses.”
She said the Littleton Business Chamber and its members are thankful for the police department’s service and wanted to support them.
The police department’s budget increased from about $16.8 million in 2023 to about $19.5 million in 2024, with many of the additional funds set to go towards “proactive public safety.”
Part of the increase was to add seven police officers to the department, two of which will be part of the SET program. One was hired this month and the other will be hired in the spring, bringing the team to a total of one sergeant and six officers.
Stephens said he is grateful for the chamber’s support of the department.
“Thank you for the support you show all the time,” he said. “It’s indicative of the Littleton community — you say you’re not the typical chamber; Littleton is not the typical community, either. The way you support us and love the police department — it’s really amazing. It gives these officers the confidence to go out and do their jobs and keep Littleton safe.”