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Police chief: crime down in 2024 despite staffing shortfalls; funeral escorts and alarm response under review
Summary
Victoria Police Department reported decreases in Part 1 and Part 2 crimes for 2024 but told council staffing vacancies are straining response capacity; chiefs flagged a nearly 65-minute average response for lower-priority calls and raised funeral escorts and false-alarm policies as items for operational review.
Chief Young presented the Victoria Police Department’s 2024 annual report Tuesday, telling the City Council that overall crime declined in 2024 even as staffing shortages complicated response and enforcement work.
"I’m proud to share that despite being understaffed, we significantly reduced crime in the city in 2024," Chief Young told the council. The department reported a 10.62% reduction in Class 1 (Part 1) offenses and an 8.08% reduction in Class 2 offenses compared with 2023. Violent crime was down about 7.12% (a decrease of 19 offenses), and property crime fell about 11.27% (a reduction of 163 offenses). The department noted a roughly 7% increase in motor vehicle thefts, an increase of six offenses.
Chief Young and staff described persistent workforce challenges: multiple vacancies in patrol and field crews, frozen positions and longer on-call rotations. Utilities and other departments also reported recruitment difficulties earlier in the meeting. On response times, the chief said priority-one emergencies remained highest priority, but lower-priority (priority-3) responses averaged about 65 minutes, and overall average response time increased from 4 minutes 13 seconds in 2023 to 5 minutes 55 seconds in 2024; Chief Young attributed the slower averages in part to staffing shortages.
The chief told council the department seized large narcotics quantities and currency through interdiction and task force activity and that the United States Marshals task force cleared hundreds of warrants and seized firearms. He also highlighted increased public engagement: 153 community events in 2024 versus 87 in 2023, and the department’s national-night-out work ranked in state and national competitions.
Council members pressed the chief on specific operational costs and priorities. Council and staff discussed the department’s practice of furnishing escorts for funeral processions. Chief Young provided a staff estimate that the department conducted about 350 escorts in 2024 and that those events averaged approximately 47 minutes and typically used three officers; staff estimated an annual operational cost of roughly $23,000 for regular duty time (the department collects about $12,000 in fees). Council members asked the chief to examine alternatives including converting escorts to an overtime assignment, exploring higher user fees or assessing whether nonpolice alternatives could perform the service; the chief noted legal and training requirements that limit options and said he would provide a more detailed recommendation after further analysis.
The chief also asked the council to consider stronger enforcement or registration for alarm systems: staff reported only about 18 burglary alarm registrations in the city and said many false alarms are creating disproportionate demand on limited patrol resources. Staff proposed exploring updates to the alarm permit/registration process and potential fee penalties for repeat false alarms.
Fleet availability and condition were another concern. Chief Young said patrol had 31 assigned vehicles with many exceeding high mileage thresholds; the department is working with management on a vehicle replacement strategy and expects delivery of six new vehicles to supplement the fleet.
Chief Young closed by listing recent recognitions and awards for officers and by outlining recruitment and retention measures the department is pursuing while a citywide compensation review continues.
