MCSO captain highlights rise in community policing actions, e-bike safety outreach

Captain Thomas delivered the quarterly public-safety briefing to the council, outlining calls-for-service patterns, an upcoming three-year comparative analysis, and an increase in community-policing activity.

He told council that one of the most notable changes is a rise in community-oriented patrols and proactive follow-up work by the unit assigned to Fountain Hills. Captain Thomas said a dedicated Squad 5 and its leader, Lieutenant Jerry Vance, helped drive a roughly 20% increase in calls for service that the unit handled and a substantially larger percentage increase in community-policing actions used to address quality-of-life concerns.

The captain also reported that weekend incident volumes tend to be lower than midweek, noted steady but not large numbers for vehicle crashes and criminal damage, and described how deputies blend education and enforcement (warnings, citations) to reduce problems. He praised local newspaper reporter Bob Burns during his remarks for background assistance and community perspective.

Looking ahead to the holidays, Captain Thomas described a partnership with the Fountain Hills School District and the MCSO school-resource officer to distribute e-bike safety information and pamphlets in the sheriff's office lobby and at schools, to clarify classification and legal requirements for different types of e-bikes and to help parents understand licensing and safety obligations.

Captain Thomas said staff are preparing a more detailed three-year comparative report (Glendale, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills) for a future quarterly briefing that will provide more context and comparative trend data.

No formal council action was required on the briefing; councilmembers thanked the captain for the update.