Former police chief, sheriff candidate blames crime spike on jail policies

Sep. 23—CHEYENNE — Cheyenne's former police chief is blaming a spike in the city's property crime rates at least partly on current jail policies, which are intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Brian Kozak, who is currently running for Laramie County sheriff, said in a media statement earlier this week, as well as at a Saturday campaign kickoff event, that these policies had turned the county into "a sanctuary county for criminals."

He cited numbers that seemed to show a staggering growth in property crimes in Cheyenne, with January through August 2021's count vastly outpacing 2020 numbers: burglaries up by 86%, vehicle thefts up by 89% and theft of vehicle parts like catalytic converters up by 163%.

In contrast to the current policy, Kozak said that, as sheriff, he would "open the jail" and use more of its capacity, doing away with a 14-day quarantine for people who test negative for COVID-19 upon entering. He said most other jails in Wyoming and Colorado only use segregation units for arrestees who test positive or who show symptoms of the virus.

Capt. Don Hollingshead, head of detention at the Laramie County jail, defended the jail's protocols. He said the 14-day quarantine period was necessary — and recommended by the CDC and Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department — to avoid exposing staff and introducing asymptomatic people infected with coronavirus into the jail population.

The Laramie County jail struggled with what it said was an outbreak of the highly transmissible COVID-19 delta variant from June through August, with its outbreak designation finally being lifted Aug. 18. The jail currently accepts arrestees charged with felonies, violent misdemeanors and repeat nuisance calls.

"(Laramie County has) so many (COVID-19) cases that, in my mind, it would be irresponsible not to follow the guidance. I wouldn't have enough staff in the facility to be able to run anything if we were to have (an outbreak) happen again," Hollingshead said. "It is due diligence to the staff that work in the jail (and) the inmates that we are there to care for and manage in the facility."

The detention captain also said many jails on the Front Range were doing the same thing because of similarly high case numbers, including Larimer County, just across the Colorado border.

In his news release, Kozak said law enforcement officers were frustrated by not being able to arrest people with property crime warrants because of the jail's restrictions.

"Property criminals know they cannot be arrested and continue to commit crime. Citizens are beginning to feel a decline in safety," the former police chief said.

Though he understands the frustration, Hollingshead said officers do have recourse.

"If there is an issue with a repeat offender or anything like that, all they have to do is let us know, and we will make accommodations to accept that person," he said.

Hollingshead added that the dramatic increase in property crime was likely the result of a change in crime reporting systems: On Jan. 1, CPD and other law enforcement agencies across the country were required by the federal government to switch from a previous system to the National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS.

According to the FBI, the switch was made to more accurately capture crime data within communities. A major change under NIBRS is that it collects data on all types of offenses and up to 10 offenses per incident, whereas the previous system collected aggregated data, and only the most serious offense within an incident was counted — for example, before NIBRS, a homicide and robbery that occurred within the same incident would only be counted as a homicide.

"It'll show a spike, but the spike will be because now we're counting everything, not just the one major event," Hollingshead said, adding that the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation had advised them to expect such an increase. He said the sheriff's office would soon release county data to "set the record straight."

Hollingshead is also running for Laramie County sheriff. He announced his candidacy in July via Facebook, shortly after current Sheriff Danny Glick announced he would not seek another term.

Both Hollingshead and Kozak are running as Republicans.

Cheyenne Police Department spokesperson Alex Farkas confirmed the city crime numbers provided by Kozak, but declined to comment further.

Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack.