The Citizens Public Safety Review and Appeal Board on Monday heard an update from the Office of Professional Standards on complaint and crime data, staffing and community programs. Inspector Mason told the board the department is seeing declines in both violent and property crime compared with recent years, and provided specific comparisons for homicides and nonfatal shootings.

“We're down significantly in both categories,” Inspector Mason said, and the report showed seven homicides this year compared with 10 last year and 38 nonfatal shootings so far this year compared with 45 in 2024. Mason also described a gun-amnesty program that began in November 2024 and said it has yielded firearms turned in to date.

The department’s staffing update said the recent recruit process drew 132 applications; seven people were interviewed and six conditional offers were extended. New recruits are expected to begin in January, and the next recruitment round is scheduled to open on 01/12/2026. The board was told conditional offers remain contingent on medical, drug and psychological evaluations before the hires are finalized.

Board members asked whether the crime and PCR (professional complaint review) figures are posted on the city’s transparency page. Staff said those datasets are posted after senior-staff review and that a temporary pause in posting was due to ongoing interview activity; they said the data will be posted soon.

On complaint demographics, board members noted a high proportion of complaints involving African American residents. Inspector Mason said he did not have a definitive explanation, suggesting possible factors such as differing rates of contact with police and generational mistrust, and emphasized that the PCR report reflects only people who filed complaints, not the universe of police interactions.

The board did not take further action on the report; members asked staff to review the online numbers for currency and to return with clarifications as needed.