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West Richland police report sharp estimated drop in local crime in 2024
Summary
Police Chief Grama told the West Richland City Council on Jan. 7 that preliminary local figures show declines across major crime categories in 2024, while citing a separate statewide FBI report showing increases in several crime metrics.
Chief Grama, the West Richland police chief, told the City Council on Jan. 7 that preliminary local figures indicate a drop in several crime measures for 2024 compared with 2023. “Group A crimes is down,” Chief Grama said, reporting an estimated 30% decrease in Group A crimes and a roughly 15% drop in Group B crimes.
The chief said other local measures also fell in 2024: arrests resulting in bookings were down about 30%, criminal citations not resulting in booking declined about 20%, and calls for service decreased roughly 15% (from about 13,000 calls in 2023 to about 11,000 in 2024). He characterized the department’s approach as “aggressive, proactive” policing and credited regional and federal partnerships for the results.
The council’s mayor, Brent Gary, added context about regional cooperation, and Chief Grama said the department’s work with metro and federal task forces has helped produce the local declines. “We couldn’t have accomplished any of this without all the partnerships,” Chief Grama said.
At the same meeting the chief also read select findings from a national crime report released through a Washington-state law enforcement group. He said the FBI’s comparison of 2019–2023 data shows statewide increases in several categories (including murder and vehicle theft), and he noted Washington’s trends differ from national trends. Chief Grama said the city will await the statewide tally later this spring to compare formal counts.
The figures Chief Grama presented were described as the department’s internal tallies and estimates; he said the city will defer to the statewide report (expected in May) for official comparisons. No formal action or new policy was adopted during the meeting on the basis of the report.
Council members and the chief discussed that a rise in recorded crime rates in some jurisdictions can reflect more aggressive enforcement rather than greater underlying criminality; the mayor and chief said cross-jurisdiction task forces and arrests can temporarily push regional numbers higher while removing repeat offenders from the streets.
The presentation concluded without a council motion. Council members thanked the police department for the work described and asked staff to continue providing monthly crime reports to the council as they have throughout the past year.
