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Board of Public Safety: Police calls up 15% year-to-date; training and mental-health team activity highlighted
Summary
At a Sept. 24 special session, Bloomington City public safety officials reported a year-to-date 15% rise in calls for service through August, outlined training and community outreach, and described work by mental-health social workers.
At a Sept. 24 special session of the Board of Public Safety, a police department presenter reported that the department has responded to 56,500 calls for service through August 2025, about 7,400 more calls than the same period in 2024 — roughly a 15% increase.
The presenter said crime trends were mixed: “some of the crimes have gone up, some have trended a little down this year,” and that there is no single category showing a steady increase. Traffic stops were described as slightly down from 2024 year to date, with officers continuing targeted traffic enforcement as needed.
Department officials reported 199 incidents in 2025 involving weapons, with firearms present in about 70% of those incidents; 17 incidents involved a firearm being fired at a person, the presenter said. The presenter cautioned the year is not complete and trends could change.
Training remained a priority, with the department logging a little over 1,400 training hours in August. Training highlights listed by the presenter included a crisis negotiation conference attended by 13 officers; a 3‑day in‑service completed by 10 officers; a 16‑hour K‑9 legal course for four officers; and an instructor certification course in ICAT de‑escalation for one officer. The presenter said the additional ICAT instructor is “helpful” because the model is used routinely across training modalities.
Community engagement activity in August included 13 events totaling 53 hours with 26 personnel participating; the department also began a multi‑week residence academy held Tuesday evenings. The department’s mental‑health provider team recorded 120 referrals and 664 contacts, the presenter said. Casework highlights included connecting a client to a grief‑support group, referring a client to Centerstone for services, assisting an elderly client with home preparations for return, and helping two long‑term clients complete paperwork needed to move into an apartment in September.
Department leaders also noted outreach with partner groups including Forever Friends and the Humane Society and ongoing public communications (including social media posts) around community events.
The report included a brief mention of equipment purchases and vehicle replacements that are part of the department’s normal replacement cycle, and an ARV deployment in August for a high‑risk search warrant that concluded without any reported use of force.
The presenter closed by noting staffing constraints: the department is authorized for 105 sworn positions and is currently at 94; five officers are at the academy and additional conditional hires are being processed, which will increase demand on field training resources when they return to duty.
