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As of last week, the Denver scandal seemed almost cleaned up. Said Governor McNichols: "We think we have the hard core:" Chief Childers, under severe criticism for his laxity, resigned, and a top-to-bottom overhaul began. Because the burglars had systematically faked police records, no one was able to say exactly how much had been taken over the years; the Safeway supermarket chain alone estimated it had lost $125,000. With many of its veteran cops in jail, the Denver 778-man police department was hard put to keep up patrols; 28 rookies with only two weeks' experience were rushed into regular duty. But worse than the shortage was the loss of faith that Denver had in its police. When two cops cruised up to a housing project last week, a group of workmen yelled: "We got to lock up our cars. Cops are in the neighborhood."