Downtown Denver can be downright scary.

Though crime has decreased slightly in recent years, the city's urban core still attracts drug dealers, aggressive panhandlers, drunks and other lawbreakers.

The illegal activity, long the source of business owners' complaints, is getting a dose of blue.

Two weeks ago, the police department deployed six officers to patrol the area on foot, increasing the existing law enforcement presence of patrol cars, the downtown motorcycle unit and the mounted horse patrol.

It's the first time in many years that police have had a dedicated foot patrol downtown.

In addition, the Downtown Denver Partnership plans to hire off-duty cops on Sundays to supplement the city's efforts.

Their mission - zero in on some troublesome blocks in and around the 16th Street Mall.

"Our job is not only to be more approachable to people, but also to address quality-of-life issues, like drinking in public, urinating in public, all the stuff that's really hard to actually see when you're in a patrol car," said Colleen O'Dell, one of the new officers.

O'Dell, who has worked for the police department for about a year, called her new assignment "old-school police work. We're on foot, we're walking a beat and it's great."

The city's beefed-up police presence is part of a larger plan to revitalize downtown, which is being supported by Mayor John Hickenlooper, said Sarah McClean, a spokeswoman for the Downtown Denver Partnership.

McClean compared the plan to "Broken Windows" policing. The term originally stood for increased attention to even minor offenses - such as broken windows - but now includes a kind of integrated approach to law enforcement.

"You set a standard for downtown and you say, 'We're not going to tolerate this, even if it's the smallest, most minute detail,' " McClean said. "Because once that escalates and starts to snowball, you start seeing this affect other areas and then you see people not wanting to invest in downtown, not wanting to spend their time down here (and) not wanting to relocate their business down here."

Don Hunt, co-chairman of the partnership's Revitalizing the Core Task Force, said there have been "increasing complaints" about the safety and perception of safety downtown, specifically along the mall between Welton and Curtis streets and California Street between 14th and 18th streets.

"These concerns are expressed in other downtown areas," Hunt said in a statement. "However, it is believed that our primary challenges stem from this vicinity."

Even though crime is down in the downtown area, Kelly Brough, Hickenlooper's chief of staff, said the police department is being strategic.

"Just the sheer numbers of people that are downtown make it a critical place that we are always paying attention to in terms of crime and what's occurring, and particularly how we can be really strategic about managing that crime," Brough said.

The lowdown on downtown

110,000 people work downtown

63,000 people ride the 16th Street Mall shuttles daily

22,000 people get on and off at downtown light-rail stations daily

9,000 people live in the urban coreSource: Downtown Denver Partnership

chacond@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5099