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Summit police present year‑end stats: calls steady, stolen vehicles and burglaries drop while larcenies tick up
Summary
Police Chief Sigorski told council Summit was on pace for roughly 50,000 calls for service in 2024 and reported notable reductions in motor vehicle thefts and burglaries after license‑plate‑reader deployment, even as larceny counts rose; council pressed for focused speeding campaigns and clearer public reporting of enforcement results.
Summit Police Chief Sigorski presented a year‑to‑date report for 2024, telling council the department handled roughly 49,620 calls for service through Dec. 12 and was on pace to reach about 50,000 by year end. The presentation highlighted mixed crime trends: a small increase in violent crimes to 14 incidents (from lower annual totals historically), a decline in motor vehicle thefts to 11 incidents, and a fall in burglaries from 39 in 2023 to 17 in 2024. At the same time the department reported an increase in reported larcenies (about 131 incidents) and a substantial rise in enforcement activity (6,640 motor vehicle stops and 5,476 total summonses including 3,596 parking citations).
Chief Sigorski said the reduction in vehicle thefts followed a two‑phase 2022–2024 deployment of license‑plate‑readers (LPRs) at entrance/exit points and in patrol cars. He cautioned that LPRs are “not a magic bullet” but serve as an investigative and early‑warning tool when a stolen vehicle is flagged entering town. He also described plans to modernize outdated public cameras and expand LPR coverage in targeted areas.
Councilmembers asked for more visible, time‑limited enforcement campaigns to alter driving behavior on specific neighborhood streets and requested clearer public reporting on enforcement outcomes and campaign results. Council and the mayor emphasized that many residents rely on cable/HGTV and other local outlets for information, and that public communication of enforcement efforts can help change behavior.
What it means: Summit’s police department reported meaningful improvements in some property‑crime categories tied to technology and targeted patrols, but councilmembers and the chief agreed enforcement will require ongoing resources, staffing and public messaging to sustain behavioral change.
Follow up: Chief Sigorski will post updated 2024 statistics on the department website in January and discuss the feasibility and resourcing of larger enforcement campaigns in early 2025.
