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Lakewood police report: overall crimes down since 2023, arrests higher after law changes and warrant work
Summary
Chief Patrick Smith told the Lakewood City Council study session on April 14 that overall reported crimes in Lakewood have fallen compared with 2023 levels, while arrests rose about 20% year-over-year driven by increases in misdemeanor, gross-misdemeanor and warrant arrests. No formal action was taken; the item was presented for council review.
Chief Patrick Smith, Lakewood police chief, told the City Council study session on April 14 that overall reported crimes in the city have fallen since 2023 while calls for service and arrests have risen in the first quarter of 2025.
"We were up 5% on the number of calls for service as compared to last year," Chief Smith said, summarizing the department's first-quarter report. He said felony arrests were down roughly 5% but attributed that to state law changes that reclassified some offenses; by contrast, "gross misdemeanor arrests are up 125%" and "misdemeanor arrests are up 24.6%," with warrant arrests up 29% and a total increase in arrests of about 20% compared with last year.
Smith said crimes…
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