Dover police present 2024 annual report; council accepts report

The Dover Police Department on Tuesday presented its 2024 annual report to the City Council, summarizing staffing changes, training, crime and traffic trends and departmental initiatives; council accepted the report by motion.

Chief Johnson delivered an executive-summary presentation that condensed a 50-page report into a slide deck. He highlighted training and recruitment, victim services expansion, the department’s accreditation work, and specialized units including drug and organized-crime enforcement, crash reconstruction and the behavioral health unit.

Key figures from the presentation included 2,646 motor-vehicle collisions in 2024 (with three fatalities reported), 210 significant overdose incidents in which officers or first responders administered naloxone or otherwise intervened, and a recorded 46 reportable shooting events with staff noting evidence of 58 occasions when shots were fired. Chief Johnson discussed a homicide count presented as “6/7,” explaining six homicides in Dover and one additional investigation in which Dover served as lead agency for an incident on Delaware State University property. He described the department’s dual strategy of data-driven uniform patrol and covert/gang-intervention work, and pointed to cooperative investigations with regional, state and federal partners in a recent homicide arrest.

Chief Johnson also reviewed academy and academy-class numbers, recruitment and lateral hires, promotions and retirements, and credited staff in victim services, records, IT and special services for sustaining department operations. He highlighted the department’s behavioral health unit as an important element of the administration’s quality-of-life initiative.

Council members asked about financial and staffing implications for the police academy, options to add civilian roles, and how authorized strength would affect the ability to create a dedicated downtown patrol unit. Chief Johnson said the academy typically breaks even through tuition from other jurisdictions and grant funding but that 2024 carried additional overtime costs tied to staffing shortages, training cycles, injuries and family leave. He said the department is approaching its authorized strength and that any decisions to add officers or civilianize positions would require budget conversations.

Councilman Neal moved to accept the annual report; Dr. Pillsbury seconded. The motion carried on a voice vote with no recorded opposition.

The presentation and report will remain part of the public record; staff and the police chief said they are available to provide additional detail and return to the council with follow-up information if requested.