Behind the Front Line: Colorado Rangers Tackle Olde Town Arvada's Homelessness Challenge

Six months into their 9-month partnership with Arvada Police, the volunteer officers are responding to a crisis that touches every corner of the entertainment district.

The interview for this article was arranged by District 3 candidate Aaron Skoff, who has made homelessness a central issue in his campaign for city council. Arvada Voices reached out to multiple candidates for additional perspectives on homelessness policy, which can be read here.

On Saturday, as Arvada celebrated its 100th Harvest Festival, Olde Town was bustling with a diverse mix of Arvada natives visiting their old stomping grounds, visitors from other parts of the city, and residents enjoying the festivities. But for Nick Voth, a captain with the Colorado Rangers, weekend evenings here mean patrol shifts focused largely on the district's ongoing homelessness challenges. Since March, Voth and his volunteer colleagues have worked alongside Arvada Police in what has become a regular part of the city's approach to public safety in the entertainment district.

"Truly up here, we're doing police patrol," Voth explains. "It's everything from vagrancy as far as the homeless population coming through... to lost kids, drunks, medical calls... but it's truly most — 80%, 90% — related to homelessness."

Since March, the Colorado Rangers have worked in Olde Town every Friday and Saturday night, plus Sunday day shifts, providing what Voth calls "75% of a police officer" to supplement Arvada's stretched resources due to an understaffed force. The volunteer department, which operates as an independent state agency, charges the city $300 per shift — significantly less than overtime rates for full-time officers.

The Partnership

The Rangers' presence in Olde Town emerged from a convergence of need and opportunity that began three years ago, when Voth first approached Arvada Police leadership. Those initial conversations were derailed by the 2021 shooting death of Officer Dillon Vakoff, but resumed last year as problems in the entertainment district intensified.

"The issues with Olde Town had kind of floated up," Voth recalls. "How are we going to do this and how do we get the extra staff needed to do some extra patrol up here? The Rangers seemed to fit at that point."

The partnership has produced a steady stream of data that flows directly into Arvada's CORE (Community Outreach Resource Enforcement) system, the same database used by the police department's specialized homeless outreach team. Rangers have access to the same resources as CORE officers and coordinate closely when both are on duty, which happens one to two shifts per week.

But the numbers tell a complex story. While Rangers and CORE officers offer housing assistance, mental health resources, and other services to homeless individuals, only about 26% of those offered accept help — a statistic that reflects deeper challenges in addressing the crisis.

"We routinely talk to folks and say we've got these resources, we can get you plugged into the pipeline, and they're like 'no, I'm good,'" Voth says. "But they're here, it's raining, it's Friday night at midnight — are you really good?" When asked if he thought the low acceptance rate was a symptom of police offering those resources, Voth said, "I don't know, I wouldn't make that connection honestly, because the CORE guys are so good at what they do. I look at CORE a little bit like a school resource officer... They and some of our guys are known by their first name with some of the homeless population."

The Reality of Repeat Encounters

Voth described his patrols through the RTD parking structure, a frequent gathering spot that requires multiple patrols each shift. The work involves a mix of community policing and crisis intervention, from administering Narcan during overdoses to de-escalating mental health episodes to simply moving people along who are camping on sidewalks.

"There's new faces for sure, but it's very much repeat offenders," he acknowledges. Many of the homeless individuals Rangers encounter have warrants from other jurisdictions or face ongoing struggles with mental illness and addiction that can't be solved with a single intervention.

The geographic dynamics add another layer of complexity. During Arvada's annual point-in-time (PIT) homeless count, District 3 candidate Aaron Skoff says he asked individuals why they were in Olde Town rather than Denver. The answers were revealing: some ride the light rail from downtown, getting off just steps from the entertainment district, while others cited Denver's more aggressive enforcement approach.

"When Arvada first started noticing there was a lot up here specifically, they started consulting with Denver. Denver was like 'oh yeah, we know these folks - those are ours.'" Skoff explains. When he asked unsheltered individuals "Why Arvada?" during his volunteer efforts during the 2025 PIT count, Skoff said they gave a clear answer: "Denver kicks their ass — it's terrible and they're tired of getting beat up, so if they ride a couple extra stops they can come and have some peace." When asked about Mission Arvada, Voth acknowledged the faith group's positive intent and work. "From the church perspective, I've seen them — their intent is healthy," he begins, adding, "but it empowers them, they tell everybody, all I've seen is that it's a place where they congregate."

The Limits of Enforcement

The Rangers' work highlights both the possibilities and limitations of law enforcement responses to homelessness. While they can issue trespass citations, make arrests, and connect people with services, they can't address the underlying factors that create homelessness in the first place.

"The homeless population has a number of issues," Voth notes, listing medical emergencies, drug overdoses, and mental health crises among their most common calls. "There's undoubtedly a mental health component going on, but we can't fix that. That's not in our scope."

"There's also disturbances where there's undoubtedly a mental health component going on," he notes. "If they're here harassing people or setting up camp literally on the sidewalk, we have the authority to move them along. You warn them and warn them, and if they just won't move or escalate to the point where they're really confrontational, you take a law enforcement approach."

This reality shapes Voth's perspective on proposed solutions, including calls for a 24/7 homeless shelter in Arvada. While he supports the idea as "a good resource," he's skeptical it would address root causes.

"The shelter alone is only a very small part of the issue because I do not believe we have good mental health resources for the folks that need mental health resources," he says. "Really, all you effectively do is keep them from freezing in that scenario as opposed to getting them actual help that they need."

The Displacement Effect

While Rangers and police work to address homelessness in Olde Town, there are growing concerns that enhanced enforcement may simply be shifting the problem to other parts of Arvada. Neighbors both east and west of Olde Town have noted increased reports of homeless encampments along Clear Creek and 58th and Kipling since the Rangers program began, though comprehensive data tracking this movement is limited.

This pattern mirrors what happened when Denver increased enforcement, leading some homeless individuals to migrate to Arvada via the light rail system. Now, as Olde Town becomes less hospitable to camping and loitering, some worry the same displacement is occurring within Arvada's boundaries.

Voth acknowledges this concern but notes the complexity of tracking such movements. "Are we just pushing the problem around? That's always the question with enforcement," he says. "But if someone is harassing business customers or blocking sidewalks, we can't just ignore that because they might go somewhere else."

The challenge highlights the need for regional coordination and comprehensive solutions that address root causes rather than simply moving problems from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Looking Ahead

The Rangers' current contract in Olde Town runs through September, designed around the warmer months when outdoor activity — and related problems — peak in the entertainment district. Whether the partnership continues into 2025 depends on City budget discussions and an evaluation of the program's effectiveness.

For Voth, who spent nearly 20 years as a paramedic in Denver before transitioning to law enforcement, the work represents a continuation of public service that runs in his family. His father and brother were both doctors, which initially drew him toward the medical field, though he chose paramedicine over becoming a physician.

"Because of that, I got the integration with police, fire, EMS in Denver — there's a very tight connection between the medics and the police," he explains. "We work extremely closely with each other. That got me interested in law enforcement."

After retiring from EMS work, Voth was looking for a way to stay involved in public safety when he discovered the Rangers. The volunteer organization, which requires the same POST certification as regular police officers, offered him a way to continue serving while leading by example.

"I try to lead by example and come out here and do the shifts with them and show them what they need to be doing," he says of his role as captain. "Make sure they get good training and understand the mission — why are we here? Because sometimes that's not clear."

This background in emergency medical services gives Voth a unique perspective on the challenges facing homeless individuals, many of whom cycle between law enforcement encounters and medical emergencies. The Rangers regularly administer Narcan during overdoses and respond to medical calls, bridging the gap between policing and healthcare that Voth navigated for two decades in Denver.

"The smaller departments like Arvada really need help," he says, noting that he's worked with about 40 police departments across Colorado, some of which have been forced to dissolve entirely due to staffing and budget pressures.

The Rangers program, which operates with volunteer officers who receive extensive POST certification and training, represents one model for addressing these gaps. But as Voth's nightly patrols make clear, the challenges they're addressing — homelessness, mental illness, addiction — require solutions that extend far beyond law enforcement.

"I wish there was an easy answer," he reflects. "It's a complicated issue."

The Colorado Rangers were originally established in 1861 as Colorado’s first statewide law enforcement agency through 1927. In 1941, Colorado Rangers were reorganized as the Colorado Mounted Rangers as a volunteer law enforcement organization. In 2017, Colorado Mounted Rangers reorganized as the Colorado Rangers Law Enforcement Shared Reserve (CLER) to provide support as a police reserve for agencies throughout Colorado. Their work in Olde Town Arvada represents their longest single deployment at six months. More information on the Colorado Rangers can be found at https://coloradorangers.gov/.