Police Chief Thomas Carroll told the council the 2026 request focuses on equipping officers, improving training and integrating technology across platforms to aid investigations and public safety. “We have handled over 50,000 incidents already this year,” he said while describing a multi-year effort to tie CAD, dispatch, Esri mapping, camera feeds and records together.

Carroll detailed the department's fleet and technology: 54 marked patrol units, 41 automated license-plate readers (ALPRs) in use, upgraded TASER 10 devices, dash cameras and an expanded suite of Axon products. He highlighted virtual-reality training to let multiple officers rehearse stressful scenarios and said the department seeks a body-camera translation function that can detect another language and provide real-time translation while the device records. Carroll said that translator is included as an additional-cost request in the Axon contract for 2026.

On surveillance and civilian data, Carroll described a registration program for neighborhood cameras that allows staff to request footage from private systems. He said the department has a link for residents to provide video and that the city can integrate camera feeds from universities, hospitals, malls and registered community devices into investigative workflows, while acknowledging privacy concerns among some residents.

Carroll outlined a vision for a real-time crime center to consolidate camera feeds, license-plate readers and mapping in a single operations space tied to the annex building next door. He argued the center would serve as a “common operating picture” for multi-agency decision-making during spontaneous incidents and planned events such as parades or a potential FIFA activation.

Chief Carroll also reviewed staffing and recruiting: since 2022 the department hired 31 officers and lost 33, and he said the department would offer conditional employment to six candidates who would start academy training in January. He closed by saying the department received state accreditation and asked that the council fund continued consulting and the new technology line items.