Plainview police report cites staffing shortfalls, falling crime rates and heavy mental-health workload

Plainview Police Chief Derek Watson and Captain Carrillo presented the department's 2024 annual report to the Plainview City Council, saying the department is authorized for 34 full-time officers but was operating with about 31 for most of last year. The council accepted the report with thanks and no formal vote.

The presentation laid out staffing, calls and outcomes. “We're authorized for 34 full time officers,” Captain Carrillo said during the briefing, and he recapped how shifts and specialized units are organized. The department reported 30,901 total dispatch calls received by Plainview dispatch; of those, 27,552 were police calls, roughly 10,467 were traffic stops and the department documented 2,272 incident reports.

City police leaders emphasized the department's reliance on specialized cross‑trained officers. The report says the department has six officers designated as mental‑health peace officers and four crisis negotiators; Chief Watson stressed the importance of those roles and the department's approach to resolving incidents through conversation when possible. “Mental health peace officers first, crisis negotiators second, SWAT officers third, because most critical instance where SWAT teams get called out on, the most important guy is the one that talks,” Chief Watson said.

Watson and Carrillo also discussed response-time metrics, use‑of‑force rates and enforcement efforts. The report said the department's documented use of force amounted to about 0.3 percent of contacts; the department characterized that level as low and noted the breakdown by contributing factors (for example, alcohol, drugs, mental‑health or medical crisis) appears on the department's incident reports. The report listed narcotics enforcement results including a seizure of about 33.29 pounds of methamphetamine and a rise in arrests and citations compared with the prior year.

Council members asked about recruitment and sponsorships for academy candidates. The council was told the city is financially sponsoring three recruits through the police academy; the department said there is no written contract requiring recruits to remain with the department for a set period after sponsorship, though staff said they emphasize loyalty when recruiting. Chief Watson said the department is actively recruiting and that the take‑home vehicle program and local hires help with retention.

The presentation also covered the department's sex‑offender caseload. Captain Carrillo said the city currently has about 92 registered *** offenders under monitoring, 15 who list Plainview as home but are incarcerated elsewhere, and five absconders that the department is tracking. Council members asked about compliance and residency restrictions; the chief said the restrictions and compliance work should help reduce risky placements over time.

Council acceptance of the report required no formal motion; the mayor thanked staff and said the council accepted the annual report with gratitude.

For now, the department's immediate priorities identified in the briefing are recruiting to authorized staffing levels, continued emphasis on mental‑health response, and sustaining partnerships with the district attorney and sheriff's offices for prosecutions and protective orders.