If Woodland Park drivers happen to notice a few police cars around town and on U.S. Highway 24, it’s not just a gotcha thing. For Woodland Park Police Chief Chris Deisler, the stepped-up patrols are effective. Statistics show the results.

“On any given day, if I have a full squad with me and my staff on the road, we have five or seven cops out there,” he said. “Seeing officers is a deterrent all around, not just for the drug runners but every criminal element that wants to come up here and cause a problem.”

Deisler launched the stepped-up patrols soon after he joined the department as chief on March 28, 2022.  

“We have a four-year decrease in crime, a 22% reduction in crime overall last year, plus a 24% reduction in traffic crashes,” he said. “And that includes vehicle-on-vehicle and vehicle-wildlife collisions.”

To top it off, drug arrests are down.

“You can never really qualify why they’re down,” he said. “I know for a fact that the notoriety we started on the road, the drug runners think it’s too hot up here. They’re avoiding us.”

But police aren’t letting up, Deisler said.

“We are still doing traffic stops and it’s what we are finding — or not finding —on those stops that we know drug cases have been down tremendously since 2022,” he said. “There is something to be said about the culture of visibility and aggressive traffic enforcement.”

The patrols are part of Deisler’s Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 that build on his initial plan from 2022-2025.

That first plan was way of hard-resetting the agency and bringing it back to center, Deisler said. In addition to focusing on growth, training and technology enhancement, the plan considers officer wellness.

“We want to make sure our officers and our staff get the time off they need to recharge but also to focus on their mental health and how it relates to their performance,” he said. “We have a pretty robust system of mental health care through the city and also through our department to make sure that our folks, regardless of their assignments, are getting the proper attention.”

The program is anonymous, he added.

Deisler’s strategic plan includes completing a multi-agency scenario for school security and response to school threats in the Woodland Park School District. “Relationships with the school were not as good as they are now, as far as I’ve been told,” he said. “It was apparent to me that there was a lapse and that hole has been filled.”

Over the past few months, then-interim superintendent Ginger Slocum reached out to Deisler and Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell in an effort to renew relationships. Last month, Slocum was named superintendent.

“School security is never not going to be our focus. The safety of our community will always be at the forefront of what we are trying to do,” Deisler said. “Being able to partner with the stakeholders again is critical.”

By the end of 2027, the chief expects to assess call volume and caseload to determine the need for personnel to assume full-time roles as investigators. By Dec. 31, 2029, Deisler will seek accreditation with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

“Any reputable police department sets forward goals and objectives for the operational period,” Deisler said. “The document serves as a way for the staff and members of the team to continue to focus on common goals.”