Taft council hears police report and discussion on vagrancy; receives annual military-equipment report

The Taft City Council received a department report from the Taft Police Department Tuesday, discussed homelessness and vagrancy along the city's rails-to-trails corridor, and voted unanimously to receive and file the Taft Police Department’s 2025 annual military equipment report.

Lieutenant McClurg of the Taft Police Department reported that in August 2025 officers responded to 1,061 incidents, including 445 calls for service and 616 officer-initiated incidents, and made 71 arrests (about 60 misdemeanor arrests and 11 felony arrests). He described ongoing efforts to address repeat offenders and to respond to each citizen call for service, saying, “We respond to every call for service.”

Council members used the department report as the basis for an extended discussion about unhoused people, encampments and public-safety concerns along the rails-to-trails corridor. Councilmember Scribe said volunteers and pantry operators…