Golden police gets new police captain

When Joe Harvey was a young boy lying in his bed in a boy’s home for poor and homeless kids, he resolved to one day become a police officer. It was a resolution made in reaction to his difficult childhood in which he would become familiar with social services, having been placed in and out of child foster care, and finding himself periodically homeless, seeking shelter under a bridge or in a tent.

He didn’t have to grow up to be the abuser, the addict or homeless. He could be anything he wanted, so long as he was the best in every task that lay before him. He would look at the glass, he decided, as neither half-full nor half-empty, but rather as overflowing.

His resolution came true.

And after 27 years of experience in law enforcement, Capt. Joe Harvey, is leading the Golden Police Department’s operations division.

“Life is about choices,” Harvey said. “How you face adversity is representative of who you are, at your fundamental roots. Even though I faced some challenges in my life, I don’t look at those things (as) being the directing force in who I was going to be,” he said. “…I chose to look at the positive.”

Harvey recently transferred to the Golden Police Department on Jan. 1, from the Greenwood Village Police Department after serving there for 21 years.

Having spent most of his youth in Douglas County, Harvey grew up without a father and had little to no contact with his mother, who struggled with alcohol and substance abuse.

He graduated from Douglas County High School in 1986, where he discovered the Douglas County Sheriff’s Explorers Program, a sub-organization of the Boy Scouts of America.

After completing the Explorers program, he was placed as the deputy sheriff for Dougco.

“I’ve spent ample time in every seat before I took the next step,” Harvey said.

In 1993, he began his two decade career with Greenwood Village, starting out as a patrol officer and climbing the ranks to lieutenant.

He also earned a bachelor’s degree and finished off his education with a master’s in criminal justice.

“Joe worked here for a lot of years and made a difference in a lot of people’s lives, and I anticipate that he is going to do the same in Golden,” said Police Chief John Jackson with the Greenwood Village Police Department. “Joe had a very full career here that spanned many divisions, and made a difference in the police department as well.”

And Harvey is already sketching out plans that will alter the Golden Police Department’s operations and procedures.

On the top of the list is “developing and enhancing” relationships with the community, by reaching out and developing partnerships with residents, Harvey said.

“There will be some changes in our philosophy,” he said. “I’m going to be assigning officers to a district for a year.”

Golden has two districts, Harvey explained, and officers are routinely shuffled between them. By assigning officers to one district, they will be able to gain a better understanding of community needs in a particular area, where overtime, the officer can build relations with residents and be more visible in the community.

“For me, I don’t think we really get the opportunity to know what’s really going on in that district unless you are working it every day,” he said.

Officers placed in their district will be more accessible for other residential representatives including hotel managers, property managers and presidents of homeowners associations who all have specific needs.

Becoming more visible in schools and on school bus routes will be added to the rooster of priorities for officers when not responding to calls, and with the help of officers, Harvey will be working on ways to address the city’s traffic and parking concerns that could involve collaboration from city staff under Public Works.

“What I was hoping for is a captain as a leader who can help us reach our full potential, we’ve got some great men and women who work here who are highly committed to our community, and I think Captain Harvey is going to add to that,” Golden Police Chief Bill Kilpatrick said. “He’s just got a positiveness about him and enthusiasm about him that is infectious.”

Harvey plans to retire from the Golden Police Department, and at the age of 46, he has plenty of time to see his plans come to fruition.

“I was brought here to have an impact,” Harvey said. “I am very excited to be here.”

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