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Idaho Falls Police report increases in proactive enforcement and code‑enforcement complaints; violent crime trend easing
Summary
Police leadership updated council on code enforcement, community policing, patrol staffing and investigations. The department reported higher self‑initiated police activity, growth in code‑enforcement complaints after streamlining reporting, and a six‑month decline in violent crime.
Chief Johnson and bureau leaders briefed the Idaho Falls City Council work session on department operations, community policing and code enforcement.
Chief Johnson said the department is focusing on geographic (beat) policing, neighborhood officers and a schedule of community events designed to increase officer visibility and neighborhood interaction. He said available proactive patrol time has risen from a prior baseline to about 20% in 2024, funded in part by overtime; the department views overtime support as temporary while recruiting continues.
In patrol, the department reported a 32% increase in traffic stops year‑over‑year and a 23% increase in drug cases, which leadership attributed to higher self‑initiated activity. Chief Johnson said violent crime has declined month‑over‑month for six months and is down roughly 13% year‑to‑date.
Captain Marley presented on code enforcement changes since code enforcement moved into the police department. The city shifted supervision to a sworn lieutenant, expanded the team from two officers to three and later to four, and implemented an online reporting system (Frontline) to streamline complaints. The officers processed 1,520 code enforcement complaints in 2023 and 2,872 in 2024 (an 86% increase); in a February snapshot the department recorded 31 code enforcement citations and reported that roughly 32% of monthly code enforcement activity was self‑initiated rather than complaint driven.
Captain Ryan Trimble, head of investigations and special operations, described the investigations bureau and specialty teams (SWAT, EOD, mobile field force, crisis negotiations, unmanned aerial systems), digital forensic capacity and regional support for major incident response. Trimble said child‑exploitation work continues through an Internet Crimes Against Children position funded by the state and called for long‑term funding for the victim services coordinator if grants expire.
Chief Johnson and captains highlighted public outreach — Citizens Police Academy, trunk‑or‑treat, Shop with a Cop, memorials and partnership events — and said neighborhood response and targeted enforcement produced tangible results in several addresses and neighborhoods highlighted in the presentation.
Staffing and recruitment remain priorities. The department described current staffing levels (including sworn and civilian posts), fleet and equipment needs, canine program status and longer‑term capital items such as range and training facility improvements. Dispatch staffing also was discussed: the emergency communications center seeks additional emergency communications officers to create a five‑person daily complement that would improve resilience and allow consistent breaks and coverage.
Ending: Council members and police leaders discussed enforcement priorities, snow‑and‑sidewalk enforcement coordination with public works, and code enforcement processes. Leaders said they will continue recruitment and retention efforts and bring budget requests for positions and capital needs in the upcoming budget process.
