Who Should Pay for Law Enforcement

I still believe that if we look at this from a pro-child perspective instead of an anti-gang one we could certainly use this money in a far better way then hiring staff for the District Attorney. Programs that help kids have been cut dramatically over the years If we don't give kids something positive to do or someone to look up to they will find those things on their own.

Mayor John Hickenlooper has raised a heroic amount of private money to help make Denver a better and more hopeful place to live.

For that, he deserves plaudits.

However, amid the $104 million collected, most of it to help poor children go to college and to plant up to 1 million trees, is $150,000 from a secret benefactor to help absorb some of the costs of a prosecutors' task force to focus on gang violence.

We don't believe that's a good approach.

The cloak of anonymity is troubling enough, but the very concept of private funding for city law enforcement services raises troubling questions.

A few City Council members are questioning the money, and rightfully so. The mayor says the money is being funneled through a yet-to-be-named private foundation. Once the check clears, so to speak, Hickenlooper says he'll identify the foundation, but not the donor. He says he doesn't know the donors' names and wants to keep it that way.

"We didn't want the district attorney or the chief of police to know what individual had given money so there could never be any accusation that this person was avoiding prosecution or this person was getting this or that," Hickenlooper told The Post. "That's why we wanted the money to be anonymous."

Hickenlooper and District Attorney Mitch Morrissey negotiated the deal to help fund a four-person team to investigate and prosecute illegal gang activities. As much as $425,000 is needed over the next 18 months, part of an effort Morrissey proposed to attack gangs with a grand jury investigation.

Denver Post Editorial