Aurora Police Department posted a public thank-you to the anonymous social media account @dobetterdnvr on Monday, crediting the account with helping spread the word about a video showing a person the department wants to identify. The message, posted around 4:24 p.m., came just two minutes after Aurora Police originally shared the video and asked anyone who recognizes the person in it, or has information, to come forward.
The department's post read simply that it appreciated dobetterdnvr's help spreading the word, according to the original post from Aurora Police Dept on X. It's a small gesture, but one that underscores just how much weight Aurora Police now place on informal social media networks to solve cases, particularly accounts with reach far beyond the department's own following.
That reach is considerable. @dobetterdnvr has built an anonymous citizen-journalism following of more than 144,000 people across X and Instagram by focusing on Denver-area crime, homelessness, and public safety issues, according to reporting from the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition. The account has grown its audience largely through crowdsourced video footage and public records requests submitted by anonymous contributors.
A Controversial Online Partner
That anonymity has made @dobetterdnvr a lightning rod. In August 2025, an investigative report identified three key contributors who had filed public records requests that were shared with the account, touching off a nationwide debate over open-records laws and media transparency, per the same Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition reporting. The controversy cemented dobetterdnvr's status as one of the most influential — and polarizing — voices in Denver-area public safety discourse.
The account has amplified major Aurora investigations before. In July 2025, dobetterdnvr spotlighted the arrest of paroled offender Ricky Roybal-Smith in Aurora, using the case to question state early-release programs. Roybal-Smith was ultimately convicted of four homicides by August 2026, according to reporting cited in the dossier's historical background.
Posting Under New Restrictions
Aurora Police's willingness to publicly credit an anonymous account comes despite tighter rules on how the department can communicate online. In May, the Aurora City Council passed an emergency resolution in a 6-4 vote requiring city management approval for non-emergency police social media posts and media releases, while also restricting the public posting of suspect mugshots online before conviction, as reported by CBS News. Council members had accused police leadership of online editorializing before passing the measure.
Hoodline previously reported on the council crackdown in detail. The tension is real: police depend on viral reach to crowdsource suspect identifications and tips, even as elected officials try to rein in how officers talk online.
The department's own guidelines make clear that its accounts are not a substitute for emergency dispatch. Aurora Police's social media guidance notes that its online channels are not monitored 24/7, and instructs residents to call 911 for emergencies or 303-627-3100 for non-emergency matters — the same non-emergency number listed in Monday's post.
Part Of A Broader Public Safety Push
The suspect-video appeal fits a pattern. Just days earlier, on August 26, Aurora Police issued a public alert seeking help identifying five suspects tied to 139 shoplifting incidents that resulted in more than $60,000 in stolen retail goods, a case Hoodline covered when police named suspects in mass retail thefts. Officials said one suspect allegedly ran an organized fencing operation using buyer shopping lists.
These public appeals arrive against a backdrop of falling crime citywide. Aurora Police data released in July showed overall crime dropped 10.5% during the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025, with violent crime down 9% and property crime down 11%, according to Sentinel Colorado. Officers answered 142,089 calls for service during that same six-month stretch.
The department has also faced internal accountability challenges even as it touts those numbers. On August 13, an Aurora police officer resigned while under criminal investigation by the 18th Judicial District over allegations of stealing and using narcotics from a crime scene, with Chief Todd Chamberlain publicly condemning the officer's actions as a violation of department policy and public trust. Chamberlain took over the department in September 2024, becoming Aurora's seventh police chief in ten years after serving as a commander with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Residents who want to track crime trends themselves don't have to rely on social media alone. The city maintains an Online Transparency and Accountability Portal offering searchable crime statistics, agency demographics, and use-of-force metrics filtered by ward, ZIP code, and beat, drawing from Aurora's 911 dispatch and records management systems. It's a formal counterpart to the informal, crowdsourced tip network that Monday's thank-you post put back in the spotlight.
