Sheridan Police cite staffing shortfalls, expanded crisis‑intervention training in 2024 report

Sheridan Police Chief Travis Kotiska told the City Council on March 4 that the department ended 2024 having faced ‘‘the most challenging’’ year in his 30‑year career but nonetheless delivered key services and maintained above‑average clearance rates for violent and property crimes.

Kotiska said the department is authorized for 31 sworn officer positions and had been 4–5 officers short for much of the year. He said dispatch staffing is now at full complement and the city will request an 11th full‑time communications allocation for FY26 (converting two part‑time slots to one full‑time). Kotiska credited recent hiring and said the communication center handled more than 43,000 calls in the year, including about 15,509 911 calls.

Mental‑health responses and crisis‑intervention training were a major focus. Kotiska said 15 officers have already received CIT training and more officers will attend a session in early May with grant support from the Wyoming Department of Health and the Wyoming Chiefs and Sheriffs Association. He said CIT and de‑escalation training help reduce the need to use force and reduce involuntary holds when appropriate interventions succeed.

Kotiska also presented clearance‑rate data, noting Sheridan’s criminal‑investigations division performs above national averages; he said the department’s property‑crime clearance rate and crimes‑against‑persons clearance rate exceed national norms. He said traffic education and barwalks have helped reduce bar‑related assaults and DUI arrests have declined.

Kotiska outlined a master‑plan update with seven strategic priorities including staff leadership and professional development, traffic safety, crime prevention, criminal investigation capability and mental‑health partnerships with local providers such as Sheridan Memorial Hospital and Volunteers of America. He said the department will compare benchmarks against 28 peer cities when national numbers for 2024 are available.

Council members asked about equipment and space for dispatch, female officer recruitment (Kotiska said the department has four female sworn officers and that recruiting has not been a problem for that group) and how calls are counted in the report. Kotiska clarified calls for service count incident reports and do not include every brief contact or traffic stop.

No formal council action was taken; the presentation served as the department’s annual report and master‑plan briefing.