Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Civilian police auditor and Olympia Police Department present 2024 report: use‑of‑force rises; most incidents involve crisis conditions
Summary
City auditors and Olympia Police Department leaders presented the 2024 civilian police auditor annual report and OPD year‑end data: use‑of‑force incidents rose in 2024 to 76 from 52 in 2023, most involved takedowns and many involved crisis conditions (mental‑health or substance issues). Auditor Tara Parker recommended enhanced de‑escalation and new
The Olympia Police Department and the civilian police auditor presented the 2024 annual report and departmental year‑end data to the City Council. Deputy Chief Shelby Parker and civilian auditor Tara Parker reviewed staffing, crime statistics, community response activity, use‑of‑force incidents and misconduct complaints.
Staffing and workload: Deputy Chief Parker said the department closed 2024 with 106 staff (71 commissioned officers and 35 civilian personnel), 27 volunteers, three canine units and several vacancies (six officer vacancies and two civilian vacancies). Officers and staff fulfilled 4,145 public disclosure requests, wrote nearly 7,000 incident reports, handled almost 55,000 calls for service and supported more than 200 community engagement activities.
Crime trends and enforcement: Parker reported reductions in certain property crimes, including a meaningful drop in auto thefts in 2024 (215 incidents), which the department attributed in part to Flock camera usage; robberies declined; felony assaults rose compared with 2023 but remained near 2022 levels.…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
