Eureka Police report: staffing progress, mental‑health diversions up, and inventory of 'military equipment' and camera systems

Eureka Police Chief Stevens presented the department’s 2024 annual report to the City Council on Tuesday, reporting recruitment gains, a high diversion rate by the community safety team for mental‑health calls, and a summary of reportable equipment under California’s military‑equipment reporting requirements.

Staffing and operations: Stevens said patrol and dispatch remained short by three positions but that other units were fully staffed and recruitment had improved. He credited the department’s crisis‑response programs and a community safety engagement team (CSET) for handling large shares of mental‑health contacts and for keeping most cases out of involuntary psychiatric holds. Stevens said CSET referred dozens of people to services and that the overall diversion rate for CSET cases was near 98 percent.

Metrics and investigations: In 2024 officers logged about 57,800 calls for service and filed roughly 5,300 police reports; detectives worked more than 160 investigations including violent crimes and suspicious deaths. Animal control and community service officers handled nearly 4,000 incidents, the department said.

Inventory and equipment reporting: Chief Stevens reviewed equipment that must be disclosed under state law and the department policy (including semiautomatic 5.56 patrol rifles, pepper‑ball launchers and less‑lethal shotguns with beanbag rounds). Stevens told council the department currently has 38 patrol rifles (typical service life ~15 years), seven pepper‑ball launchers, and 14 less‑lethal shotguns; he said no rifles or less‑lethal projectiles were discharged by EPD officers in 2024 and pepper‑ball munitions were not deployed in 2024, although the equipment was taken to incidents. Annual training and munitions purchases were summarized: roughly $1,300 for range fees and an ammunition purchase on the order of $1,500 in 2024, with a larger ammunition order forecast for 2025 to maintain training stockpiles. Stevens said the rifles are standard issued and fall under an exemption in the government code but were reported in the interest of transparency.

Mobile cameras and LockCop trailers: Stevens summarized the city’s contract with LiveView Technologies for mobile surveillance trailers (LockCop). Four mobile trailers and one stationary camera were in use at locations that included Dyess Park, Carson Park and the City Hall parking lot; staff said the system is not continuously monitored by EPD and that the department requests footage from the vendor on a case‑by‑case basis. The city manager confirmed the contract cost runs about $8,000 per month for the five units combined. Stevens described the devices as a deterrent where deployed and recounted reduced vandalism at two city sites after unit placement.

Regional teams and transparency: Stevens said EPD contributes personnel to the regional SWAT and CNT negotiator teams under an MOU with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office; council asked staff to provide a copy of the MOU and other related documents to the council. Stevens also said the department received 18 external complaints in 2024 — a small fraction of the roughly 173,000 documented contacts — and that the independent police auditor reviewed complaint investigations.

What’s next: Stevens described ongoing recruitment and training, updated property‑and‑evidence storage improvements, expansion of school and community outreach, and planned grant applications for traffic and enforcement grants.