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Police report cites low major‑crime rates, asks for cameras and fleet changes
Summary
City police presenters said overall crime and calls for service remain low compared with a 2020 peak, highlighted proactive patrols that yield warnings, citations and arrests, and requested targeted investments in evidence‑room cameras and vehicle ownership instead of leases.
Speaker 1 said the department's busiest month in the last six years was 2020 and that current call volumes have climbed back toward that level but remain low overall: "we don't have a ton of calls for service" and the department aims to keep homicide at zero. He described proactive patrols as a deterrent and a source of investigative leads, noting officers find DUIs and outstanding warrants during traffic enforcement.
Speaker 1 detailed a case he said illustrates the value of follow‑up: after a 911 call about vehicle break‑ins, officers identified license plates, located a residence and obtained a search warrant. "We found methamphetamine, marijuana paraphernalia. And, unfortunately, the drugs were by the kids. It was in the room where they were staying, so the kids were removed," Speaker 1 said. He said DCFS is working with the family.
On equipment and security, Speaker 1 said the department lacks camera coverage in places such as the evidence‑room entry and recommended several camera additions, including a 360° camera inside the evidence room and coverage for a door at the bottom of the stairs that does not latch reliably. "It'd be good to have a camera that faces that so we could just review the camera to ensure that nobody gained access," he said.
Speaker 1 described fleet management as another budget priority: three vehicles are leased and two are owned, and he recommended moving toward owning the fleet, estimating that purchasing and rotating vehicles on a three‑year cycle could be cost‑competitive with rising lease costs.
On grants, Speaker 1 said the department secured a $25,000 award to replace aging body‑worn cameras and a roughly $5,400 grant to implement an officer performance tracking system tied to newly required reporting. He also described a planned community feedback step: distributing business cards with QR codes officers can hand to residents after traffic stops so citizens can rate interactions, with the system prompting follow‑up when a low rating is submitted.
Council members asked follow‑up questions about partnerships with the highway patrol, enforcement locations and traffic calming; Speaker 1 said staff will deploy officers to specific intersections and school zones. He also discussed the department's citation/warning practice: officers have discretion to issue warnings about 40% of the time rather than citations to encourage compliance.
The presentation included no formal motions or votes.
