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Kingsburg Police report 13% drop in Part I crimes; calls for service increase as officers initiate more proactive activity
Summary
Police Chief Veil Dadian presented 2024 year‑end statistics showing a 13% drop in Part I crimes compared with 2023, an increase in overall calls for service, and departmental training and equipment updates; the department emphasized traffic and vehicle thefts as continuing challenges.
Kingsburg — Police Chief Veil Dadian reported to the City Council on Jan. 15 that Part I crimes declined about 13% in 2024 compared with 2023 while total calls for service rose. The department highlighted traffic enforcement, vehicle burglaries and domestic‑violence incidents as primary ongoing concerns.
Dadian told the council that the department handled 13,744 calls for service in 2024, up from 13,099 the prior year; officers initiated a larger share of activity in 2024 as citizen‑initiated calls fell by about 8.7 percent while officer‑initiated activity increased. The chief said that, taken together, the numbers suggest officers are being proactive and addressing issues before citizens call in.
He cautioned that a single October fatal collision is recorded in FBI data as a murder/manslaughter category for reporting purposes even though the local classification was an unlawful‑behavior‑related vehicle collision; he also singled out vehicle thefts and thefts from unlocked cars as recurring, preventable crime types and said the department will increase public awareness on scams and wildfire‑related fraud.
Dadian reviewed training and equipment updates: multiple officers completed instructor and investigatory courses; the department acquired 27 new TASERs and upgraded batons; two 2025 marked patrol vehicles have arrived and are being upfitted; the department received a donated 2014 BMW motorcycle from Clovis for potential field use; and new hires are in the field‑training pipeline with additional candidates cleared to start in coming weeks.
The chief closed by summarizing community engagement activities over the holidays and thanking the council for support of public safety funding and staffing. Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about how domestic violence is logged (aggravated assault statistics) and about the motorcycle program; Dadian confirmed domestic‑violence incidents are categorized under aggravated assaults in the report.
