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Police budget hearing underscores crime reductions, tech spending and staffing questions
Summary
At a Wilmington Finance Committee hearing, Police Chief Campos and budget staff presented the FY26 police budget, highlighted declines in shootings and homicides, and outlined funding for technology, a new crime analyst, academy classes and crossing guards amid staffing vacancies.
The Wilmington Finance Committee resumed its budget hearings with a detailed presentation of the Police Department’s proposed FY2026 general fund budget. Deputy OMB Director Winkler and Police Chief Robert Campos described a $69.5 million general fund budget that emphasizes technology and community programs while reflecting modest overall changes to staffing and personnel costs.
Chief Campos opened by citing year‑to‑date reductions in shooting incidents and murders compared with 2017 and the prior year—figures he presented to illustrate recent crime‑reduction trends—and summarized community outreach and partner programs the department administers.
Why it matters: the police budget funds front‑line public safety, crime‑prevention initiatives and technology purchases; the proposed plan reflects both operating constraints (removal of a one‑time retention bonus included in FY25) and targeted investments in analytics, real‑time monitoring and community programming.
Key poi…
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