Agenda Memo

City of Boulder City Council Agenda Item Meeting Date: February 19, 2026 Agenda Title Consideration of a motion to approve a memorandum of understanding between the Jefferson County Regional Child Abduction Response Team and the City of Boulder and to authorize the city manager to execute the memorandum of understanding

Staff Contact • • • •

Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde, City Manager Stephen Redfearn, Police Chief Brannon Winn, Police Commander Carolyn Wolf, Police Legal Advisor

Draft Motion Language Staff requests council consideration of this matter and action in the form of the following motion: Motion to approve a memorandum of understanding between the Jefferson County Regional Child Abduction Response Team and the City of Boulder, and to authorize the city manager to execute this memorandum of understanding

Executive Summary This memorandum of understanding (MOU) is designed to establish a multijurisdictional network to rescue abducted children and allocate resources to missing and endangered children. The primary goals of the Parties are to provide specialized law enforcement officers who are available to focus dedicated and intensive investigative, preventive, and

general law enforcement efforts primarily to cases involving abducted children, to rescue abducted children, and investigate, arrest, and prosecute perpetrators involved in child kidnapping, abduction, false imprisonment, and other similar offenses. The Boulder Police Department is seeking permission to sign as a Party to this MOU.

Council Action Options Option

Outcome

Approve MOU & authorize the city manager to execute

If the MOU is approved the city signature routing process would be initiated to get the MOU fully executed

Deny approving MOU

No more action would be taken and the JEFFCO CART team will be notified that we will not be signing onto the MOU

Take no action

The CART MOU would not be executed by the city

Refer back to staff

If council refers this item back to staff, staff would need further direction on whether or not to bring the item back and how

Alignment with City Plans and City Council History Sustainability, Equity and Resilience (SER) Framework and Citywide Strategic Plan Alignment SER Framework Goal Area This item connects to Safe. Keeping children and community members safe and preventing crime should be top priorities of any local police department. By signing onto this MOU and committing resources to abducted, missing, and endangered children, we can help to create a safer community and protect some of our most vulnerable. This also allows us to pair with other local jurisdictions to use various specialized resources aimed at making positive impacts in these areas and learning how to prevent these types of offenses when possible. Citywide Strategic Plan This item connects to Strategy 1, Focus community safety efforts on reducing community harm at critical locations known for high incident rates or significant vulnerabilities, by being a part of a multijurisdictional team, allowing us to collaborate, have access to local experts, and maximize utilization of resources to better strategize.

This item connects to Strategy 4, Strengthen equity-focused programs that help meet community members basic needs, including mental, physical, and behavioral health, financial assistance, and access to services, by helping to meet community members basic need to feel safe in their community and feel that children will be protected. Staff Notes Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) §§ 29-1-203 and 30-11-410(2) permit municipal and county law enforcement agencies to enter into cooperative agreements for the provision of services by the other agency. C.R.S. §§ 29-5-103 and 29-5-104, allow for the temporary assignment of peace officers to other jurisdictions and the request for temporary assignment of peace officers from another jurisdiction.

Alignment with Additional City Plans This item aligns with the Boulder Police Department’s 2026 Goals. Specifically, it directly impacts the goal of Safety: Continued focus on community safety and crime reduction as well as enhanced safety for our officers and field staff, by allowing access to resources and expertise to better protect the community and respond to crimes involving a vulnerable population.

City Council History This item has not come to council before. It is not related to a specific council priority

Analysis The Jefferson County Child Abduction Response Team (CART) is a specialized, multiagency unit in Colorado designed for the rapid, coordinated search and recovery of missing or abducted children. It is comprised of trained personnel from various agencies, focusing on immediate, evidence-driven actions. If we signed this MOU we would join the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, City of Arvada, City of Edgewater, City of Lakewood, City of Westminster , City of Wheatridge, 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Adams County Sheriff, Arapahoe County Sheriff, City of Aurora, Boulder County Sheriff, City of Brighton, City and County of Broomfield, Colorado Bureau of Investigations, City of Commerce City, City of Denver, City of Federal Heights, City of Longmont, City of Thornton, and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Police as a Party and would officially become part of this multi-jurisdictional effort known as the North Central Colorado Region Child Abduction Response Team aka Jefferson County CART. The primary goal is the safe and fast recovery of endangered children through highly organized, certified, and rehearsed procedures. When a child goes missing, resources are immediately mobilized through coordination to ensure a swift response. CART

utilizes, or brings together, resources like K-9 units, digital forensics, and community canvassing to locate children. Jeffco CART is a multidisciplinary law enforcement, district attorney, and community resources team that provides training, technical support, partnership, scalable manpower, and a shared commitment to reuniting families. CART provides specialized law enforcement officers who are available to focus dedicated and intensive investigative, preventive, and general law enforcement efforts primarily in cases involving abducted children. Colorado has had several high-profile child abduction cases over the past three decades, with numerous incidents occurring in the Denver Metro area. Joining CART provides the Boulder community with specialized resources if needed, and critical partnerships that can literally be the difference between life and death when a child is abducted. The FBI’s data research shows, of the children who are abducted and murdered, approximately 75% were murdered within three hours of being abducted. That number increases to nearly 90% within 24 hours. This data shows time is critical in child abductions. These types of cases can require extensive resources. Staffing patterns in our department continue to fluctuate and can be unpredictable. By entering into an agreement with CART, the department would have timely access to additional resources in these extremely traumatic incidents. The department would also provide needed resources to other communities’ abducted children.

Equity Analysis This item has no considerations related to equity

Fiscal Note Per the MOU, each member agency of the Regional Child Abduction Response Team is responsible for their own individual expenses. The fiscal impact is not anticipated to be material and will be managed within the appropriated budget.

Climate, Resilience, and Sustainability Considerations This item has no considerations related to climate, resilience, or sustainability

Community Engagement This item does not require community engagement

Workplan Considerations This is included in the current department’s workplan within the current time, personnel, and resources dedicated to related investigations.

Next Steps for City Council There are no next steps for this item and no related agenda items

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Attachment Attachment A – Draft CART MOU