Kennewick Police present 2024 annual report; council presses on training, hiring and evidence handling

Kennewick Police Chief Chris Guerrero presented the Kennewick Police Department’s 2024 annual report at the Kennewick City Council workshop on June 10, outlining crime trends, staffing and several operational initiatives.

The report showed overall crime up 1 percent in 2024 while violent and property crime measures were down, a result Guerrero attributed to the department’s focused crime‑fighting strategy and regional prosecutorial support. “Our mission is to provide professional police services with integrity, courage, and commitment,” Chief Guerrero said as he described the department’s organizational priorities: proactive crime fighting, thorough investigation and community engagement.

Guerrero and commanders walked council through staffing and operations. The department remains authorized for 110 commissioned officers and roughly 130 total employees. Commander Davis told council the department completed 150 background investigations in 2024 and hired 11 officers, three police support specialists and one cadet. Commander Davis said the department has brought in roughly 50 new officers over the past five years and that the Pasco Police Academy has been an important training pipeline. “We hire about 3% of those who test,” Guerrero said of the selection process.

Training and records: the police reported more than 31,000 total hours of training in 2024, including academy and field training; department instructors provided about 3,600…