Police Chief Jones told the Gunter City Council that the department’s calls for service, citations and arrests have increased markedly in 2024 compared with the same January–November period in 2023.

The chief said the department pulled comparable statistics for January–November 2023 and January–November 2024 and found what he described as a "night and day" difference. "In 2023 our total events ... was 434. In 2024, that number was 657," he said, characterizing that as roughly a 51% increase. He also said arrests rose from 2 in 2023 to 14 in 2024 and that total citation counts and citation-violation totals increased substantially year over year.

Why it matters: Council members heard these numbers as context for staffing, enforcement and public-safety planning. The chief framed higher citation activity as an effort to gain compliance and keep roadways and residents safer rather than a goal of issuing citations for their own sake. "We're not out there trying to give everybody's citations," he said.

Details from the presentation: the chief acknowledged some uncertainty in recalling exact figures while speaking, and he displayed a PowerPoint with the department's counts and a five-year projection he said would be posted on the department website. He also described internal efforts to recruit and brand the department: officers designed a new patch and logo with core values intended to aid recruitment, and the department took what the chief described as its first departmental photo to support that effort.

Council response and follow-up: council members did not move a formal action on the statistics during the meeting. Chief Jones said the department will place the presentation and longer-term projections on the department website for public review.

Next step: the chief said the department will publish the slides and a five-year projection online; no formal policy change or budget decision was recorded at the meeting.