Georgetown police report rising calls, staffing gains and expanded crisis‑intervention work

Georgetown Police Chief Corey presented a wide‑ranging departmental update at the council workshop, covering staffing, calls for service, homelessness response, crisis intervention (CIT), regional SWAT activity and planned ordinance changes.

Chief Corey said hiring exceeded attrition for the third consecutive year: in 2024 the department hired nine people (three certified, six non‑certified) and had a small number of separations (one retirement, three probationary terminations, two resignations). As of the briefing he reported two current open positions and four pending retirements before June; four recruits were in field training and four had just started academy training in Temple.

Corey described the department’s recruitment pipeline as large but highly winnowed: of 259 applications in one recent cycle, only 58 candidates submitted a personal‑history statement and 23 ultimately remained in the pool after testing, backgrounds and boards. He said the department emphasizes culture and retention when competing for lateral hires.

On workload, Corey said the department handled roughly 800 more calls for service in 2024 than in 2023 and that the largest single category of reportable crimes remains property‑type offenses (larceny and vehicle burglary). He noted that part‑1 crimes remained lower than several comparable Texas cities on a per‑city basis, and that the top call types include 9‑1‑1 activations, crashes and welfare checks.

Homelessness and mental‑health response were a major focus. Corey said CIT has operated a full year and the team proactively makes outreach contacts; he cautioned that monthly contact totals represent repeated contacts with the same individuals. The department reported approximately 90 known camps and said the city tries to move quickly to mitigate camps once staff become aware. The department made 229 emergency detentions in 2024; 37 of those were people who were unhoused. Corey said officers issued citations and criminal trespass arrests when warranted; he noted 58 criminal trespass arrests last year that the department identified as likely tied to homelessness.

Corey described Central Texas Regional SWAT (a multi‑agency team that includes Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander and Pflugerville) as a force multiplier. He said the regional team completed 47 operations in 2024 with no officer or suspect injuries and no uses of force reported; the team seized narcotics (reported totals included roughly 53 kilograms of marijuana, 6.8 kg of cocaine, 7.5 kg of methamphetamine and 1.49 kg of fentanyl), firearms and cash. The city contributes to the regional team’s budget and staff noted that equipment purchases such as armored vehicles can carry long lead times and larger price tags.

Other highlights: the department opened a new firing range used for training and regional instruction; license‑plate readers (LPRs) were described as a strong investigative tool and the state has made a $5 million investment in LPRs statewide; and the department continues efforts to improve traffic enforcement and neighborhood traffic calming without using speed bumps on collector roads (the city’s traffic‑calming policy restricts certain devices on collectors for emergency‑response reasons).

Council members praised CIT and asked for data visualizations (for example, heat maps showing where homeless contacts and camps concentrate). Councilmember Parr and others asked for police and fire input on whether additional detention authorities should be expanded to paramedics — Chief Corey said any change would need legislative action and he had reservations about shifting emergency‑detention responsibilities exclusively to paramedics because of time‑and‑safety impacts.

Corey told the council the department will continue to pursue recruitment and retention, refine processes, press cyber‑safety outreach for families and children, and seek opportunities to reduce response‑time pressure while preserving public safety.