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Perry police report 2024: grants, accreditation and increased caseloads; ICAC investigations recover child-abuse material
Summary
Police Chief delivered the department’s 2024 summary including awards, grants, equipment upgrades, a 17% rise in total cases, and eight ICAC cases that recovered hundreds of CSAM files; the department received multiple small state grants and equipment funding.
Chief Nancy presented the Perry Police Department’s 2024 annual report at the Feb. 13 council meeting, outlining awards, grants, staffing, crime trends and work with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force.
The chief said the department again received Lexipol recognition for policy and training management and completed an audit with no findings. She reported roughly $13,000 in state traffic-enforcement funding (typically for DUI enforcement), a $4,500 JAG grant and about $7,000 in funding for handheld LIDAR speed devices.
Staff also received roughly $7,000 from the state to implement an early intervention system required by recent state law. The department upgraded radios and switched cellular service to T-Mobile to expand device coverage and reduce costs, the chief said.
Statistically, the department reported an approximately 17% jump in total case numbers in 2024. Property crime showed a notable drop, which the chief attributed in part to a local business’s asset-protection staffing changes that temporarily reduced reported shoplifting cases. Violent crime was described as trending upward. Use-of-force incidents decreased, and the department recorded no fatal traffic accidents in 2024.
The chief described traffic-enforcement activity: "There are 2,600 documented traffic stops; 437 resulted in citations and about 2,000 resulted in warnings," and compared patrol staffing and case loads with neighboring agencies, noting Perry’s smaller patrol staff handled a high per-officer caseload on average.
On online child-exploitation work, the chief said she serves as Perry’s ICAC investigator and reported eight ICAC cases from July through the end of the year that yielded hundreds of child sexual-abuse material (CSAM) files. She said 47 images/videos were of identified children; of the ICAC cases, one resulted in federal charges, and the caseload included multiple first-degree and second-degree felony allegations. The chief described the work as resource-intensive but “hands down the most gratifying thing I’ve done in my life.”
The chief invited questions; council members acknowledged the report and offered thanks. No policy changes were voted on during her presentation; she noted staffing attrition of about 8% and ongoing training and accreditation work.
