Mountlake Terrace Police report shows calls up and asks for clearer multi‑year context; officers report training and program expansions

The Mountlake Terrace Police Department presented its combined first- and second-quarter 2025 report on Aug. 28, telling council that calls for service and traffic stops increased compared with 2024 while certain citations fell, several training and program initiatives advanced, and the department is pursuing additional hires.

Police Chief Pete Cull and Commander Scott King reviewed goals and statistics and emphasized community-oriented programs including an embedded social worker, the Cops and Clergy outreach program, unmanned aircraft operations and a traffic officer driving recent increases in traffic enforcement.

"Traffic stops were up first and second quarter, and this is likely due to the addition of our traffic officer," Commander King said. The department also reported fewer formal citations for some offenses after a local policy change to avoid criminal charges for driving while suspended (third degree) in favor of infractions intended to reduce court costs and public-defender expenses.

Statistics and programs reported - Calls for service: up in first and second quarters compared with the same periods in…