Brownsburg police chief presents 2024 annual report, flags reserve-officer legislation and details community programs

Chief Joseph Grimes delivered the Brownsburg Police Department27s 2024 annual report during the Feb. 11, 2025 Brownsburg Police Commission meeting, summarizing calls-for-service trends, staffing changes, program activity and facilities planning.

Grimes said calls for service logged through the department27s communications center increased in 2024 compared with 2023, even though total calls for service recorded by patrol were slightly lower. He attributed the discrepancy to staffing shortages and described proactive patrol activity as a factor that would have driven higher totals if staffing had been full. Grimes said use-of-force incidents were "marginally down" from 82 incidents in 2023 to 69 in 2024 and that pursuits fell from 32 to 28.

The chief told commissioners the department added four officers in 2024 but faced separations and one retirement, resulting in seven total position changes during the year. Grimes said the department is continuing recruitment for 2025 and expects to add more officers.

Facility and equipment plans Grimes said the town finalized purchase of property west of Brownsburg for a joint training facility for the police and street departments. He said the project would consolidate special-aid vehicle storage and training space now scattered across multiple locations and estimated a three- to five-year timeline for establishing the site, with architecture and engineering work likely to begin this year.

Reserve unit and proposed state legislation Grimes reported reductions in the reserve unit and said the department currently has three patrol reserve officers and two civilian reserve-status positions for CSI support. He warned commissioners the department was monitoring House Bill 1186, which, according to Grimes27 summary, would limit reserve officers27 law-enforcement powers to on-duty activity within their adopted jurisdiction. Grimes said the bill was scheduled for a hearing Feb. 12 and asked commissioners and residents to contact state representatives to convey concerns about potential impacts on public safety.

Community programs, outreach and public advisories Grimes highlighted department partnerships and programs that he said contribute to Brownsburg27s long record as one of the safest cities in regional rankings. Items noted in the report included: - A January diaper drive conducted with the Just Be Kind Club of Plainfield; lead volunteer and department mentor Todd Knowles coordinated collection and distribution of donations. - Neighborhood and business crime-watch revitalization efforts by the community relations unit to increase participation from HOAs and local businesses. - Fraud, extortion and online-sales safety reminders urging residents not to share personal or banking information over the phone or online, to verify email addresses and to use the department27s 24-hour video-recorded lobby for transactions when possible. - An ongoing assessment of pursuit-mitigation technologies and platforms to reduce high-risk vehicle pursuits; Chief Grimes said staff were researching available tools and that further investment and training would be needed.

Grimes closed by thanking community partners and urging continued cooperation as the department pursues hires, facility planning and program rollouts.