Le Mars police cite rise in violent and property crimes, propose city-owned "intel" camera program

Police Chief (name not specified) told the Le Mars City Council that crimes against persons and property increased in 2024 and that the department plans to propose a city-owned community intelligence camera program in the next month or two.

The chief said Le Mars recorded three homicides in 2024, compared with the prior pattern of roughly one homicide every five to seven years. He also reported that the department logged about 3,000 community-policing contacts — “officers getting out of their car, walking through a business … talking to kids at the city park” — which he said represented about 10% of the department’s overall activity.

The department’s staffing and programs received attention during the presentation. The chief noted 2024 marked the sixth year of a school resource officer (SRO) in Le Mars and called the position “very beneficial.” He said the SRO cost is split roughly 50/50 between the city and the school district, with the schools planning to increase their portion next year. A council member cited a rough annual all-in cost of about $120,000 for that employee.

The chief described a short-lived volunteer trail safety program started in 2024 — run by volunteers using a donated golf cart — that he said generated community interest and that many volunteers have asked to resume it. He said volunteers “work out a schedule between themselves, and then we coordinate” with the police department to report trail deficiencies or safety issues.

On investigative work, the chief said the department created a detective community-impact officer position in 2024. He told the council that a recent homicide consumed an estimated 500–600 staff hours, reducing time available for other work. He also reported an increase in evidence/property intake, characterizing it as substantially higher than the prior year.

The chief said the department wants to launch a community “intel camera program” and will present a proposal soon. He described the cameras as city-owned systems that would provide investigative leads, saying, “It’s not a big — it’s not a big brother camera where we have access to it all the time. It’s intel.” He said the system would notify officers if a vehicle linked to a wanted person, sex offender or an abducted person entered the area. He listed other nearby cities that have installed similar systems and said Le Mars staff would present specifics to the council in the next one to two months.

Council discussion included whether privately owned cameras could be registered for investigative use. The chief said private camera owners can register their devices on the department’s community-policing page; the department does not have routine access to those feeds but canvasses neighborhoods and requests footage after incidents.

Traffic enforcement and safety figures were mixed. The chief reported that traffic stops increased in 2024 and that about 79% of traffic stops resulted in warnings. He said overall accidents were down compared with 2023 and that the city has not had a fatal accident since 2021. Training remains a priority, with officers averaging roughly 100 hours of training each in 2024, the chief said.

No formal action or vote on the camera program, SRO funding or other items was recorded during the meeting; the chief said he would return with a formal proposal for the council to consider.

Questions and comments from council members focused on enforcement practicality for a proposed hands-free cell-phone law and on budget and oversight details for any camera program or SRO costs. The chief said the department will seek guidance from the state and prosecutors on enforcement elements for the proposed hands-free law and will provide a detailed camera proposal to the council before any purchase or program launch.