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DENVER A side effect of the pandemic can be seen along the streets of Denver city. More people are homeless and trying to survive, but local businesses accuse these growing homeless camps of increasing crime.
This has intensified considerably since the beginning of the year, when we have had homeless people displaced or migrated, said Juan Munoz, who runs a company specializing in inspection affected by crimes.
Denver Police said the department had seen an increase in vehicle-related theft in the 1200 block of 39th Avenue E. since May, where Munoz operates his business.
Munoz had two generators stolen from his company’s trucks last month, all of which were captured on surveillance video.
It is difficult for us to continue to operate, said Munoz. These generators are valued at over $ 2,500 each, he said.
We were victims of a trailer theft. Our vehicles have been broken into three times, said Dwane Haskins, owner of Custom HPACES in the same business park.
Haskins said that as nearby homeless camps grew, crime in the area increased with it.
It is a direct correlation. It’s a struggle to deal with things like that, he says.
Denvers District Five Police Commander Marcus Fountain said he did not believe the homeless were solely responsible.
So although we have a small homeless population in this particular region. I think it’s a stretch to say that the homeless are responsible for an increase in motor vehicle crime, he said.
But Fountain confirmed the theft involving the Munoz generators was linked to a nearby homeless camp and said police had increased patrols in the area.
Another factor at play, police said, is that officers have to arrest the same criminals multiple times because they are released from prison so quickly due to the pandemic.
And after a while, people start to realize that even if they are arrested, they won’t be in jail for very long, Fountain said.
It’s a nighttime situation here. Something has to be done [by] the city or someone who has the power to do something with these people or move them, Munoz said.
For these Denver business owners, they want someone to do something about Denver’s homeless population.
I am a little discouraged by Denver. It just makes you wonder if this is the best place for us. Do we have to move to another city? Haskins said.
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