Moscow Police chief reviews 2024 annual report: staffing, training and crime trends
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Summary
Chief Anthony Dellinger presented the Moscow Police Department’s 2024 annual report, highlighting staffing churn and recruitment gains, declines in several crime categories, expanded training capacity, community outreach events and work by detectives and forensics staff.
Moscow City — Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dellinger presented the department’s annual report April 21, outlining staffing, crime statistics, community policing activities and investigative accomplishments from 2024.
Dellinger told council the department began 2024 with 28 sworn officers of 33 budgeted positions but ended the year with 24 sworn officers as the department experienced several retirements and some recruits who did not complete field training. He said the department has pursued recruitment tools including a cadet program that grew from five cadets in its first cohort to 12 in the most recent cohort and which Dellinger called “one of our best recruiting tools.”
On crime statistics, Dellinger reported a small decrease in crimes against persons (about 2%), a larger decline in property crimes (about 22%), and an almost 12.5% drop in crimes against society (largely drug offenses) as reported to the Idaho State Police NIBRS system. He said the department handled about 10,400 calls for service in 2024 and that officers conducted more than 4,700 traffic stops.
Dellinger highlighted several personnel recognitions: Corporal Jacob Tesdall received a life‑saving award after administering naloxone to an overdose victim; Detective Fox deployed a new drone capability that located a missing autistic child about a mile from home; and Officer Rasinski and a Latac County deputy performed CPR that helped keep a motorist alive until additional resources arrived. Dellinger also recognized Officer Rosendahl as officer of the year and singled out Detective Mauer for statewide recognition in internet crimes against children (ICAC) investigations and forensics work.
The chief warned about fentanyl dangers in the community, noting that small quantities are lethal: based on DEA lethality figures and local seizures, he said the department’s fentanyl seizures since 2022 could amount to material theoretically capable of causing mass fatalities if dispersed — a reminder he used to stress the risk posed by counterfeit pills and varying potency. He also praised the K9 Ragnar program and credited visible enforcement and the K9 unit with deterring local drug activity.
Dellinger said the department continues to expand training capacity after the new training room opened, which has allowed more in‑house training and better use of training funds. He noted investigative successes: a child exploitation case that led to federal indictment, cross‑border work that helped recover a juvenile taken to Mexico, and a complex financial fraud investigation that resulted in indictments of six suspects.
Council members asked questions about outreach to international students, naloxone (Narcan) availability, disability and de‑escalation training, parking fee revenue, and partnerships with drug‑court and mental‑health court programs. Dellinger said patrol vehicles carry naloxone and officers are trained to use it on both officers and civilians; he described ongoing partnership and training efforts with Department of Health and Welfare for crisis intervention and autism‑specific instruction, and said the department participates on local treatment teams for mental‑health and drug courts.
The chief closed by thanking the council and the community for continued support and said department staffing and recruitment were showing improvement in recent hiring cycles.
