San Marcos Police present 2024 public-safety report; department outlines reforms, accreditation progress and new equipment

At a March 4 San Marcos City Council work session, Chief Stan Standridge and multiple department leaders presented a comprehensive 2024 public-safety briefing that combined crime data, internal-accountability reforms, new equipment and staffing updates, and the department27s plan to expand mental-health response capacity.

The presentation reported that overall reported violent crime has declined since a 2022 peak: Patty Homme, the department27s crime analyst supervisor, said violent offenses fell from 456 in 2022 to 325 in 2023 and to 261 in 2024. "So we are moving in the right direction as it relates to violent crime," she said. The department also reported 54,511 "community member contacts" (calls for service or related contacts), 69 reportable uses of force in 2024, 21 vehicle pursuits and 51 fleet accidents in 2024 (27 of which were deemed preventable). Commander Tiffany Williams and others said the department will continue to refine policies around pursuits and use-of-force reporting.

Internal accountability and training

Commander Tiffany Williams reviewed internal changes the department has adopted in recent years, including an Office of Professional Conduct that expanded investigative capacity and an Event Review Board that reviews every use of force, pursuit and preventable crash. Williams said the department recorded 42 internal investigations from 2021 to 2024 and that 26 of those inquiries were substantiated and produced corrective or disciplinary action ranging from counseling to termination. She described a new active-bystandership program for officers that is designed to normalize intervention by peers to prevent mistakes and misconduct.

Accred…