Don Coleman:
"PARACHUTE, Colo. -- A smaller police force is a sign of the times in Parachute after a boom and bust in oil and gas production in the area, but so is much less of a crime rate.
Since peaking at around 8,000 calls to service in 2006, the number has been cut in half with fewer industry workers in town.
"We've seen a lot of people move out," Chief Cary Parmenter with the Parachute Police Department said.
"We've got a large apartment complex in town that is half empty now."
Last year, Parmenter says the town saw 4,257 calls which is close to the pre-development numbers of about 3,000 calls each year. He recalled struggling to meet the demand when crime was much more of a problem.
"Before oil shale, we had three officers on staff. It took us a while to hire and train more, but we ended up with a staff of eight," Parmenter explained.
Even though the number of crimes had increased, Parmenter says the severity of those crimes did not necessarily go in the same direction although the industry brought with it the town's first and only murder...."
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