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Sheriff’s office reports mixed crime trends: calls and self‑initiated activity up; jail bookings down
Summary
Crook County public safety staff presented 2024 crime and jail statistics and January comparative data, showing increases in overall calls for service and self‑initiated activity alongside declines in total jail bookings; staff warned that rising case counts coupled with limited officer hours create time‑pressure on investigations.
Bill (public safety/ComStat presenter) presented the sheriff’s office annual and January comparative statistics at the Feb. 12 work session. He said 2024 saw an overall increase in reported incidents and calls for service but a decline in total jail bookings.
Key points presented by Bill: - Calls for service rose year‑over‑year: staff reported about 16,764 calls for service in 2024, roughly a 22% increase over 2023 figures. Self‑initiated activity (traffic stops, business checks and other proactive policing) increased substantially after additional FTEs were added; staff reported self‑initiated calls were up about 63% in 2024. - Arrests: adult felony arrests were down about 5% in 2024, while misdemeanor arrests rose about 13%. Juvenile arrests showed larger percentage swings but from smaller base counts. - Jail bookings totaled about 1,149 in 2024, a reduction of about 13% from 2023, according to the presentation; some categories (DUIs, assaults booked into jail) showed month‑to‑month variation. - Mental‑health and suicide indicators: the presenter reported four suicide attempts in the jail in 2024 (up from one in 2023) and 26 suicide watches during the year; staff said the total jail incidents were down about 16% overall.
Bill emphasized the time component for deputy workload: he described a recent traffic‑crash investigation that required more than 8–12 hours of deputy time to process, with report writing and hospital coordination extending across shifts. He said staff had to send a deputy home after a 16‑hour shift and have the deputy return later to complete reporting so that district attorney filing timelines could be met.
In January comparative figures (Jan. 2025 vs Jan. 2024) staff reported increases in person and property crimes and a rise in community livability reports; the presenter said January drove up the monthly comparable statistics and noted self‑initiated activity had nearly doubled month‑to‑month in the period reported.
Commissioners and staff discussed publication and public access to ComStat data; the sheriff’s office said it publishes monthly statistics and is open to improved public presentation (Facebook and other formats) so residents and stakeholders can observe trends.
Bill concluded that higher calls and case loads, combined with constrained staff hours, create workload and time‑to‑file pressures that complicate investigations and prosecutorial timelines.
