Bloomington Police Department presents 2024 annual report showing staffing, technology and targeted enforcement gains

The Bloomington Police Department presented its 2024 annual report to the city council committee of the whole, summarizing staffing levels, calls for service, crime trends and investments in technology and community engagement.

The police chief told the council the department handled 70,707 calls for service in 2024, maintained an authorized sworn staff of roughly 133 officers at the end of last year (with recent declines the department is actively recruiting) and averaged a 1 minute, 19 second time to dispatch for EMS, fire and police requests. The chief also highlighted technology and tactical investments: 21 public-safety camera systems, 15 FAA‑licensed drone pilots, and 275 drone flights in 2024, plus use of the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) to process firearms evidence.

On crime trends, the chief reported a small overall crime increase (about 1.5%), a rise in gun seizures (up 16%) and noted a reduction in vehicle thefts (down 27%). He described a decline in persons shot (from nine to four in a comparison year) while acknowledging an increase in shots-fired incidents; a council member flagged a discrepancy between the figure shown on the meeting agenda and the figure on the presentation slide, and the chief confirmed that shooting-incident figures were under discussion and that his slides showed a higher percent increase.

The department described proactive street-crime and investigative work that led to increased gun recoveries, NIBIN matches that aided other jurisdictions and eight arrests in robbery cases (five adults, three juveniles). The criminal-investigations and patrol units, the chief said, handled a 10% increase in calls for service and recorded a 25% increase in traffic stops. Use-of-force incidents and citizen complaints remained a small fraction of calls: the chief reported 27 complaints and said use-of-force incidents occurred in 186 calls for service; the department emphasized continued de‑escalation training and audits.

Community outreach data cited by the chief included 310 public-engagement events, 19 “coffee with a cop” events, 17 neighborhood walks, and high satisfaction results from post‑contact surveys (more than 90% positive responses on treatment, fairness and understanding). Staff also said the department leveraged state and federal task forces and $56,800 in Illinois Department of Transportation grant funding for traffic-safety overtime.

Council members commended the department’s community engagement and asked follow-up questions about shooting statistics, the composition of the minority-and-police partnership group, investigations into retail theft networks and the operational impact of a local encampment near public works and the library. The chief encouraged security, clear rules and cameras for any proposed shelter or micro-community programs and said the department would pursue interagency partnerships in an organized response.

Ending: The chief made the written annual report available on the police department’s transparency page and invited further council questions and follow-up on staffing and crime data.