Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Box Elder police report large rise in calls, higher clearance rate; council seeks more data
Summary
Police Chief Bob Connell told the Box Elder City Council Aug. 19 that calls for service rose from 5,048 in the first half of 2024 to 7,954 in the same period of 2025, while the department’s case‑clearance rate increased to 63.2%; council asked for dispatched vs. self‑initiated breakdowns in future reports.
Police Chief Bob Connell told the Box Elder City Council on Aug. 19 that the department handled 7,954 calls for service in the first half of 2025, up from 5,048 for the same period in 2024, an increase of 2,906 calls.
“That equates to an overall average of 16 additional calls per day,” Connell said, noting June was the busiest month and the department reached its minimum staffing threshold during peak periods. He identified a persistent hotspot at 240 North Elkhorn, a mobile‑home park, with more than 600 calls for service.
The chief said those increases translated into more case reports and arrests: cases developed rose by about 169 in the first six months of 2025, and arrests nearly doubled from 201 in 2024 to 392 in 2025. DUI arrests rose from 53 to 100. Connell also reported citations increased overall (249 in 2024 to 396 in 2025), although June produced a temporary dip in citations as officers prioritized responding to higher call volumes.
Connell credited some shifts to staffing and scheduling changes. “We went to a 12‑hour schedule to where we have larger crews working the streets each day,” he said, and added that increased patrol presence has helped reduce larger property crimes even as petty thefts have risen.
The chief also summarized internal affairs activity for the year to date: 12 complaints (10 citizen‑initiated, two department‑directed), with 3 exonerated, 1 not sustained and 8 sustained findings. “As we develop the police department and we're changing policies, we're going to see that,” he said, explaining some sustained findings reflected areas where officers are adjusting to new rules.
Council members asked for more granular reporting. The mayor and council requested a breakdown showing dispatched calls versus self‑initiated/citizen‑initiated calls and asked that Connell provide a recurring summary to the mayor and council. Connell agreed to include dispatched vs. self‑initiated data in future reports and to resume the biweekly summaries discussed earlier.
The update was presented as an informational item; the council did not take formal action on staffing or budget at the meeting.
