Transparency

Police Transparency

The goal of the Littleton Police Department (LPD) is to make Littleton the safest city in the country, and the only way to achieve that is in partnership with our community. Trust and transparency are critical components of any healthy, sustainable relationship. LPD wants to ensure that information is readily available about all topics of interest and concern to our community. Below is information, links, and policies that define LPD's processes, philosophies, and accountability measures.

Statistical Summaries of Disciplinary Investigations

Accreditation Performance Feedback

The Littleton Police Department (LPD) is proud to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). This accreditation demonstrates the LPD’s commitment to professional excellence in policy and practice. The assessment process includes extensive self-assessment, annual remote web-based assessments, and quadrennial site-based assessments. LPD received its 6^th on-site accreditation in spring of 2022. LPDs annual web-based assessment was conducted remotely and included 192 standards from the CALEA Standards for Law Enforcement Manual. Here is a link to the 2023 annual web-based assessment(PDF, 1MB).

The CALEA commission provides an opportunity for individuals to provide feedback, comments, commendations, and other information regarding LPD’s quality of service or other information relevant to the accreditation process through an Accreditation Performance Link.

Statement from LPD Regarding Immigration Enforcement

The Littleton Police Department (LPD) has received questions regarding our role in federal immigration enforcement and how we would respond if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations were to occur in our community. We want to provide clear and transparent information to the public.

The LPD does not enforce federal civil immigration law. Our primary responsibility is to serve and protect the community of Littleton by maintaining public safety, upholding Colorado law, and building trust with the people we serve.

Under Colorado law, local law enforcement agencies are prohibited from participating in civil immigration enforcement. This includes restrictions such as:

Prohibiting arrests or detentions based solely on civil immigration detainer requests.
Requiring a judicial warrant signed by a judge before an individual may be held beyond their scheduled release time for immigration purposes.
Restricting the sharing of certain personal identifying information without a judicial warrant or subpoena.
Prohibiting local governments from entering into agreements that would allow officers to act as federal immigration agents.
Prohibiting state and local governments from contracting to house individuals for civil immigration detention.

The LPD does not conduct any enforcement related to immigration, including joint operations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We have never been contacted by ICE to participate in an operation, and we would decline participation in any such operation, as it is not within our authority under state law or department policy.

While the likelihood of ICE operations occurring in Littleton is remote, our role in any such circumstance would be limited:

If an ICE operation escalated into criminal activity, civil unrest, or rioting, LPD would respond to address criminal conduct and restore peace. Mutual aid, if necessary, would involve metro-area law enforcement agencies, not federal agencies, who are trained for crowd management and public safety response.
LPD officers are bound by Colorado statute and department policy to intervene if they observe any officer, including federal officers, using unnecessary or excessive force. Any such intervention must be reported to an LPD supervisor.
We do not have a specific operational plan for ICE enforcement actions because we do not participate in those operations.
Our role is limited to community and officer safety. We would respond if ICE officers requested emergency assistance due to an immediate threat to safety.
LPD will not assist in arresting or detaining individuals solely for immigration purposes.
LPD will have body worn cameras activated any time we respond to these situations, as required by State Law.

The LPD remains committed to upholding the law, protecting constitutional rights, and ensuring the safety of all members of our community.

Anti-Bias Training

As a CALEA accredited law enforcement agency, all Littleton Service employees are required to complete anti-bias training each year. This training includes legal aspects and an examination of the patterns, practices, and protocols that result in bias-based policing/profiling. LPD will investigate citizen complaints of bias-based policing/profiling in the same manner by which other complaints regarding an officer's conduct are investigated. LPD personnel determined to be in violation of this policy will be subject to disciplinary actions. View 608-Bias-Based Policy

Body Worn Cameras

The Littleton Policy Department (LPD) deployed Body Worn Cameras (BWC) in July of 2022, more than a year ahead of a Colorado state deadline, after city council approved a contract with Axon Enterprises. Under the contract, all officers who interact with the public will receive BWC to comply with the 2020 “Law Enforcement Integrity Bill,” which set a deadline of July 1, 2023.

The use of department-approved body worn camera systems can provide powerful evidence of criminal activity and has proven to be a valuable tool for law enforcement in documenting enforcement members’ honesty, integrity, and professionalism. Enforcement members (commissioned officers, parking management, and animal control officers) shall use BWC systems and all other recording and imaging devices in compliance with manufacturer's operational guidelines, department training, and the LPD BWC policy.

“The cameras will improve officer safety and efficiency, support supervisor oversight, and enhance community transparency,” said Littleton Police Chief Doug Stephens. Axon Enterprises is an industry leader in law enforcement technology, and most Denver metro area law enforcement agencies use their products. Axon also provides Littleton Police’s Tasers, which will also receive an upgrade under the contract. The $1.2 million, five-year contract will be offset by a nearly $300,000 grant in the 2022, and additional cost savings were secured through a state cooperative purchase agreement. View 1102-BWC Policy

Commendations, Comments, and Complaints

LPD employees work to provide professional and compassionate services to everyone they encounter. All employees are expected to treat colleagues and community members with respect and integrity. LPD welcomes feedback, both positive and negative, from community members regarding the conduct of employees. To make a comment or complaint, visit the Police Contact Form page. The Investigation/Support Services Division Chief is responsible for the collection, confidentiality and maintenance of records relating to grievances. These records are maintained in the department's Internal Affairs investigation files. Commendations, Comments, and Complaints Form.

Officer-involved Shootings

The City of Littleton is in the 1st, 18th, and 23rd Judicial Districts. The Littleton Police Department (LPD) participates in the 18th Judicial District's Critical Incident Team (CIT), the 1st Judicial District’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), and the 23rd CIRT team that investigates instances involving deadly force.

Law enforcement agencies in the 1st and the 18th Judicial Districts pool resources through these teams to investigate the incidents, and the District Attorney’s Office determines whether the use of force was lawful or criminal. Those reports are public by law and can be found at the 1st Judicial District's website, the 18th Judicial District's website, and the 23rd Judicial District's website. These teams have their own procedures and publish their own policy documents to which the Littleton Police Department complies. View 404-Officer-involved Shooting Policy

1 Dismissed Announcement

Contacting the Littleton Police Department