Riley County police present 2024 crime certification, expand camera use; jail overcrowding, hemp enforcement raised

Riley County Police Department Deputy Director Erin Friedline updated the Manhattan City Commission July 22 on the county's certified 2024 crime numbers, the department's camera initiatives and license-plate readers, and operational pressures in corrections operations. Friedline said the department's violent-crime rate was 2.8 per 1,000 people and another rate cited was 14.2 per 1,000; she said Riley County was roughly 40% less violent and about 30% below the state average on comparable measures. "We continue to be a safe community," Friedline said. She cautioned that small raw counts can make percentage changes misleading. The department has expanded fixed and license-plate-reader cameras around Manhattan. Friedline said the camera systems, combined with an intelligence unit that monitors footage and radio traffic in real…