Lacey Police present 2024 crime review and 2025 projections; department staffing rises to 66 of 72 authorized officers

Chief of Police (presented as Chief Almod) told the council the department’s crime rate has declined in recent years and summarized 2024 statistics reported to the state. He said Lacey’s overall crime rate is below the Washington state average and that both violent and property crime rates are lower than statewide averages.

"Crime rate is going down," the chief said, citing a roughly 11% drop across the 2019–2023 span and a year-over-year 10% decrease from 2023 into 2024. He attributed improvements to staffing increases, training and proactive deployments.

The chief also reviewed staffing: the department has 66 fully trained officers of an authorized 72 FTEs, leaving six vacancies. He said two recruits were scheduled to begin onboarding September 29 and a third in October, and that two community service officers were moving into recruit classes. He told council that to reach a staffing level equivalent to about 1.3 officers per 1,000 residents the city would need roughly 78 authorized FTEs, noting that adding positions requires equipment, vehicles and ongoing operating funds.

On immigration enforcement, the chief said the department "has no role" in federal administrative immigration enforcement and cited state law, saying the statute passed in 2019 prohibits Washington law enforcement from engaging or assisting in federal administrative immigration enforcement. "Our policy and our training prohibit us from engaging in detentions based upon immigration status," he said. He added the department will assist authorized law-enforcement agencies on criminal investigations that have a local nexus.

The chief also discussed trends in specific crime categories and operational issues: motor vehicle thefts have declined since peaks during the COVID period; burglaries and recoveries were down; aggravated assaults were rising slightly; and narcotics enforcement has been affected by state law changes, creating a current limitation on arrests for paraphernalia absent statutory cleanup.

Council members asked questions about NIBRS reporting, clearance rates and whether the department participates in community camera partnerships; the chief said the city partners with providers including Ring and has added a digital forensic analyst to process video evidence.

Ending: Council thanked the chief and the department for recruitment and training efforts. No council action was required; the briefing was informational.