Lacey Police report: staffing restored, arrests and training up; department emphasizes outreach and embedded behavioral health

Chief Robert Armada presented a public safety update to the Lacey City Council on March 11 reviewing department staffing, 2024 workload statistics, strategic priorities and behavioral‑health response partnerships.

Armada said the department expanded commissioned staffing from 52 officers in 2019 to about 72, with 18.5 civilian FTEs and several reserve and volunteer programs. He described recruitment, retention and training as top priorities and said the city converted five previously temporary positions to permanent status and added four officers through recent funding. Armada said, “we're much more likely to educate and inform than do an enforcement action on folks,” describing a philosophy that emphasizes voluntary compliance, outreach and case management before enforcement.

Behavioral‑health response and outcomes: Armada reviewed the department’s embedded behavioral‑health approach. The department partners with Olympic Health Recovery Services to operate a mobile outreach team (MOTT) that includes a designated crisis responder, two mental‑health clinicians and two peer support staff embedded in the police department. He said MOTT responded to nearly 2,000 calls and engaged roughly 650 people in 2024; the Community Resource Unit (CRU) engaged about 225 encampments and responded to over 1,000 calls identified with homeless activity.

Armada highlighted a February incident in which MOTT’s engagement helped de‑escalate a person in crisis who had threatened self‑harm and first responders; after coordinated contact the person was taken for treatment and a small apartment fire was safely extinguished. Armada said having MOTT staff “embedded” and known by first‑responders improved operational trust and outcomes.

Crime, traffic and use‑of‑force figures: The chief presented preliminary 2024 activity figures: roughly 42,000 incidents for the year, about 2,100 arrests (a ~26% increase), and an overall crime decline of about 10% year‑over‑year. Armada said collisions were roughly flat overall, with a decrease in injury collisions and a small increase in fatal collisions; citations rose about 17% and DUI arrests about 10%. He described drug‑related arrests as “primarily methamphetamine and fentanyl.”

Use‑of‑force: Armada said the department recorded 50 uses of force in 2024, most involving holds or control techniques; two were taser deployments and two involved firearms being pointed without discharge. He characterized the department’s use‑of‑force rate as low relative to incident volume and tied the absolute increase largely to the higher number of arrests and more officers on patrol.

Other priorities and capabilities: The department reported increased training hours (about 8,000 hours in 2024), reestablished traffic and school‑resource units, and plans to stand up an in‑house digital‑forensics analyst and an embedded IT technician in 2025. Armada said the city is on schedule to open a new police facility and training center within roughly a year, subject to equipment (notably a large generator) and final occupancy milestones.

Council and manager comments during the briefing noted cross‑jurisdictional work on crime trends, the department’s accreditation and the role of community diversity in policing outcomes. Armada thanked HR, finance and other city teams for support on recruitment and noted retention of experienced officers who later returned to Lacey after short departures.

The council did not take a formal vote on policy during the presentation; the briefing served as an update and planning discussion.