Redding police: violent and property crimes fell in 2024, but arrests, repeat offenders and jail capacity remain concerns

Redding Police Chief Barner told the City Council that year-end 2024 statistics showed declines in both violent and property crime compared with 2023, while arrests, bookings and some enforcement metrics increased — a combination officials tied to proactive policing, repeat offenders and limited court and jail capacity.

Chief Barner said the department logged a notable set of figures for 2024: seven homicides; 88 rapes; 95 robberies; 405 aggravated assaults; 186 burglaries; about 1,100 larceny reports; and 233 motor-vehicle thefts. Barner said arrests and some enforcement activity rose — including an increase in misdemeanor arrests and citations — even as the overall counts of violent and property crimes fell by roughly 21% from 2023 to 2024.

Barner said the department responded to a large volume of calls and noted staffing shifts and reporting changes that affect year-to-year comparisons. He described the national switch from the Uniform Crime Report to NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting) in 2023 and explained how that change can increase counts for incidents with multiple victims or multiple affected units (for example, multiple storage units in a burglary). He also credited the department’s crime-analysis work led by Kristen Gurley for better data and internal guidance.

The chief highlighted the department’s detective work: in 2024 detectives handled several homicide investigations and secured suspects in custody within days in the homicides the city recorded last year. He also outlined workload metrics: 21,000 reports taken by the department in 2024 and 3,851 bookings; detectives closed a high share of assigned cases.

Council members asked whether Redding’s relatively high arrest numbers compared with other cities come from proactive policing or from repeat offenders and system bottlenecks. Council Member Danuka asked, “How much of that is because of proactive and how much is because of repeat offenders?” Barner answered that both matter: the department is proactive by design, and repeat offenders plus limited jail beds and courtroom availability create a revolving-door effect. Barner said the city’s chronic-offender numbers are concentrated: the top 10 repeat offenders accounted for 299 arrests in 2024, the top 20 for 546 arrests and the top 25 for 660 arrests; 42 people had 20 or more arrests during the year.

Barner and council members emphasized resource constraints beyond policing: the district attorney’s office and the courts have staffing and courtroom limitations that affect prosecution, and the jail has only three beds dedicated to the city’s chronic-offender custody program. Council members and the chief discussed alternative custody programs and partnerships with county probation and nonprofit outreach teams as partial remedies.

The council thanked the Redding Police Department’s staff for their work. Chief Barner said the department would continue to provide updated data and work with partners on interventions intended to reduce repeat offending and the system pressures that follow.

Ending: The presentation closed with agreement among council and staff that policing, prosecution, court and custodial capacity must be coordinated to reduce repeat offending and improve outcomes for individuals with mental-health and substance-use needs.