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Police chief reports falling burglary trends, launches summer traffic enforcement grant
Summary
Police Chief Edeng Garcia presented second‑quarter crime and response statistics, reported declines in home burglaries and building burglaries compared with recent years, and said the department will run TxDOT‑funded Operation STEP traffic enforcement in July.
Alice Police Chief Edeng Garcia presented second‑quarter department statistics at the council meeting and outlined enforcement and grant activity aimed at reducing crashes and thefts.
The chief said the department responded to 5,267 calls in the second quarter and offered a year‑over‑year comparison showing steady or reduced burglary numbers: habitation burglaries in prior years held in the low‑50s (2021–2024), and the current second‑quarter trend projects lower year‑end totals if it continues. Chief Garcia said vehicle burglaries rose in 2024 (110) from prior years but the department’s continued attention has produced a better mid‑year trend; he noted an example projection of about 56 vehicle burglaries if the current trend continues.
Garcia summarized enforcement activity and grants: the department qualified for a TxDOT grant to run Operation STEP (a focused enforcement effort) beginning July 19 that will target speeding, DWI, seat‑belt and child‑safety violations and distracted driving. The chief described the Operation STEP award as “about $10,000” for overtime enforcement and said a longer, year‑long STEP program will follow.
Why it matters: The statistics and enforcement effort are directly tied to public safety priorities. Garcia said the department’s work helped keep residential burglary counts relatively low and stressed that traffic enforcement aims to reduce crashes and fatalities on major corridors.
Council discussion and follow‑up Council members thanked the chief and asked for additional breakdowns of EMS and crash numbers; Garcia offered to provide more detailed counts and to meet with councilmembers for a deeper briefing. The chief invited councilmembers to his office to review units, grant equipment and more granular reports.
Provenance: second‑quarter police statistics and grant announcements as presented by Chief Edeng Garcia.
