Police Superintendent Larry Acres presented the department's proposed FY26 level-service budget and reviewed operational developments, staffing and crime trends.

Acres said the department requested a level-service budget that primarily covers personnel obligations and training needs. He reported the department's current workforce at roughly 605 full-time positions (one covered by grant funding) and summarized recruitment: an academy class scheduled to graduate in early May had 47 recruits in training and that number changed during the course of the hearings. He told the room the department's objective over time is to grow the authorized uniform strength from 514 toward 550 to offset attrition, long-term sick leave and military service.

Acres and department leaders reported operational results in 2024: a near-50% reduction in homicides compared with the previous year (17 homicides in 2024, according to remarks), a 77% homicide clearance rate, a 20% decline in vehicle theft and a 9% decline in burglaries. The department also reported about 313 illegal firearms seized in the prior year across FIU, uniform squads and other units; that total included ghost guns and components converting pistols to automatic fire.

Acres described organizational changes including a neighborhood-stabilization unit that consolidates C3 and Metro resources, a professional standards unit that handles policy, accreditation and settlement-agreement tasks, and expanded community-engagement activity (coffee-with-a-cop events, neighborhood meetings). He said he is advancing the department's body-worn camera and Axon technology package and continuing work with the federal settlement agreement toward compliance.

Why it matters: staffing levels, academy throughput, firearms enforcement and homicide clearance rates are core public-safety metrics. Acres asked for continued administration and council support to sustain recruit classes and increase sworn staffing over time.

Attribution: reporting in this article is drawn from Superintendent Acres' remarks and subsequent council questions in the FY26 hearings.