Public safety was the main topic that Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade focused on in his “Halftime Report” State of the City address on Sept. 25. This speech marked the halfway point in his mayoral term.
Compared to his other talking points—including infrastructure, housing and homelessness, economic vitality, and community activation—Mobolade spent a significant amount of time speaking about the public safety initiatives he and his team have implemented since his election in 2023, and how those are impacting Colorado Springs residents.
Mobolade claimed that a recent poll showed more than 60% of Colorado Springs residents think there needs to be an increase in police presence and investment in public safety. Another poll from the City of Colorado Springs indicates 52% of people are dissatisfied with the city’s efforts to prevent crime despite the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) hiring more than 250 new police officers since June 2023.
Colorado Springs is moving toward having 839 officers which, according to Mobolade, is a smaller figure than that of similar-sized cities. Mobolade says that more police officers will mean “faster response times, safer streets, and safer neighborhoods.”
Another way the mayor has addressed public safety is through faster 911 response times. According to Mobolade, 911 communication centers in the city are at their highest staffing levels since 2018, and 30% more calls to 911 are being answered within 20 seconds. Response times have also decreased from 15 minutes to 11. This comes after KRDO13 found that the average response time for “Priority One” calls was over 23 minutes in 2024.
The newest fire station, Station 24, was opened by officials earlier this month to serve the rapidly expanding north side of the city. This new station will help improve emergency response times of the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD), with the city hoping to respond to 90% of emergencies within eight minutes or less, Mobolade said.
CSFD also had an aerial tower truck custom-made to help firefighters reach high-rise buildings. According to FOX21, the 100-foot tower will operate out of Station 1 on South Weber downtown, allowing CSFD to help people escape from buildings over three stories tall.
The city’s Drone as a First Responder Program is also being implemented by CSPD. These drones, operated from Real Time Crime Centers, can arrive at crime scenes in two minutes.
“In high-stakes situations, those extra minutes and eyes can mean the difference between escalation and resolution,” Mobolade said.
According to Colorado Public Radio, these drones can also be used to follow criminal suspects and allow drone operators to communicate with CSPD officers on the ground to take the suspect into custody.
Red light cameras across the city are being used to help control reckless driving, an issue that Mobolade said is a major concern for residents. Twenty intersections in Colorado Springs now have red light cameras, and according to Mobolade, CSPD has issued more than 132,000 citations for red-light violations in the past two years. He added that ticketing has risen 29%, including a 213% increase in school zone enforcement.
In other data presented in his address, Mobolade mentioned that property crime is down 16%, motor vehicle theft has decreased 41% and vehicle break-ins are down 32%. He claimed that homicides in the city have decreased by 20% and murders have dropped by almost 30%. Data from Neighborhood Scout shows that both violent crime and property crime in Colorado Springs are almost twice the national median and are higher than the average for the rest of Colorado.
Compared to Mobolade’s 2024 State of the City speech, he included more statistics and data on the city’s public safety initiatives. He recognizes public safety as one of the key focuses of his administration. “When it comes to making Colorado Springs one of the safest cities in the nation, the good news is that we are making real progress,” said Mobolade.